Spoken word poet Te Kahu Rolleston recently visited Papatoetoe High School for the second time this year to share his powerful words as part of our Writers in Schools programme.

Papatoetoe High English teacher Carol Rowse says both visits were ''awesome'', but this time the session developed into something much bigger than an hour-long poetry reading.

“He turned what was supposed to be his one hour of performing poetry into a spontaneous school showcase featuring some of our Maori language learners performing the poetry they'd only just finished writing 40 mins ago... in front of a third of the school!”

Carol says Te Kahu also encouraged ‘’some of the school’s spoken word kids and a couple of wanna-be rappers to take the stage.’’

“You know how in a school assembly, some kids listen, some kids talk and some kids just wait patiently and respectfully?

“In this case, every student in the hall was engaged and actively listening. 400 of them! Even to our kids stumbling through their poems.

“And of course, the whole hall went off the chart when Te Kahu performed! It was seriously amazing! All the teachers came to tell me how amazing he was and that he had made poetry fun again.

"It was seriously cool. I knew it would be amazing but this was just next level. It was awesome!”

The visit wrapped up with a student haka performed for the poet.

“It's so cold in the video but in real life the whole hall was shaking and the atmosphere was so full and electric,” says Carol.

Carol recorded the visit and it’s available to watch on YouTube here.

You can watch the student haka here and a clip of Te Kahu performing with his son on his shoulders recorded during his visit in term 1.

For more information about Te Kahu Rolleston, and to book an author visit to your school, please click here.