In light of the recent bomb threats to schools, NZ Police have advised that Principals ensure that they can swiftly communicate with staff and students throughout the school to initiate an evacuation. Student runners do not suffice. Pine Hill School is one of an increasing number of Auckland schools to see the benefit of futureproofing their paging system to give staff, students and caregivers complete peace of mind, safe in the knowledge that they can communicate with every classroom and outside space in the event of an emergency.
Straightforward Installation of the 2N IP Audio Paging System
Pine Hill School recently elected to install the 2N Audio Paging System distributed in New Zealand by Edwards Sound, gold sponsors of the Auckland Primary Principals Association. The unique feature of the 2N Audio Paging System is that it does not require audio cabling but uses the local area network, so installation costs are significantly reduced. Pine Hill School was able to install thirty-one 2N Net Speakers across the school and four Net Audio Decoders to communicate with outdoor zones via horn speakers.
Paging into the new system is done via a paging microphone connected to a Windows Laptop running on the server. This paging set up is useful when a school runs on a MacOS, or when multiple fixed paging options are needed, for example in the administration block and the staff room.
Simple System Programming and Management
After the straightforward physical installation, the Edwards technicians got to work on programming the system. This was done on the Windows server supplied with the new system. There were three key features of the Pine Hill School solution that required programming:
- for the office to be able to page to each individual classroom
- pre-recorded messages to be set up such as lockdown, evacuation or end of break announcements
- the scheduler to run the school bell
These are all native features of the 2N system so programming was very simple. Alterations can be made through a VPN (Virtual Private Network), meaning the school's IT Support Service or Edwards can remotely access the system to easily and cost effectively make any changes that the school may require.
Complete Peace of Mind
Crucially for Pine Hill School and other schools around the country installing the 2N IP Audio Paging System, school leaders can rest assured that they can initiate an evacuation and be able to communicate with every child or staff member anywhere on the school grounds.
