Plan, Prepare, Practice

8/30/2024

Aloha Island School ‘Ohana,

Just over a year ago, the devastating fires that took hold on multiple islands, and raged through regions of Maui in particular, shook our communities to the core. I value how our community rallied to send support and how I continue to hear about efforts to help with the long-term impact of the fires, especially for the Lahaina community. We continue to hold the impacted Maui ‘ohana in our hearts. Any emergency event in another community highlights for all others the importance of the regular need to plan, prepare, and practice so that we keep our communities as safe as possible. Whenever I review our emergency practices at Island School with our team, it serves as an important reminder of the responsibility, the trust you place in us as educators, if there were to be an emergency on campus.

We sent out a PRACTICE emergency communication to all employees and families this afternoon both by email and phone. Please see below for announcements for more details, and read on to join us in our work to plan, prepare, and practice.

Given we are through our first month of school, it is time to do our annual turn toward important routines and safety procedures with our faculty, staff, and students. In the coming weeks, we will review our all-school evacuation plans, address any safety needs as we identify them, and we will do our first practice drill that we will complete in different forms periodically across the school year. Our emergency plan includes many forms of emergencies, from fires to lockdowns. Whenever we do our drills, we do so with care for our students and adults, for them to be empowered by knowing what to do, but not to scare anyone. If you are curious about age-appropriate ways to discuss emergencies, feel free to give me a call, email, or come to the crosswalk at 8:05 am when I'm done with my duty there, and I'd be glad to chat in person.

If you have not reviewed your own family emergency plan, consider doing your own review. You can find a Home Emergency Kit Checklist via the County of Kauaʻi here. If this helps, consider the following questions:

Are all your phone numbers and contact information updated at Island School as well as your work?
Do people know how to help if you cannot pick up your children in an emergency (either a family emergency or a larger community one)?
If you live in a dry part of Kauaʻi, have you managed the vegetation near to prevent as much as possible the impact on your home of a wildfire?
Have you confirmed with family / friends / neighbors a plan if you live near a local road or bridge that can flood?
If you have elderly neighbors who live alone, have you considered some kind of shared neighborhood plan to support them?

I know it’s not on the top of many people’s list to talk about these issues with family, friends, or neighbors, but if we plan, prepare, and even practice together, we will all be safer together. It's in reflecting on needs BEFORE there is an emergency that will help our own families and the broader community too.

Finally, I hope you all have a wonderful 3-day weekend ahead in honor of Labor Day. We were glad to honor the hard work of our own team with a special morning coffee-tea-treats spread yesterday for Island School employees. Working hard means we value our rest too, and I hope this weekend holds time for you and yours to relax and have some meaningful time together.

Together,

Nancy Nagramada, Head of School

n.nagramada@ischool.org

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