Spoken Word Club makes powerful debut

AvCol’s Spoken Word Poetry Club may have only formed this year, but they have already competed in the WORD – The Front Line Poetry regionals and qualified for the semi-finals.

At the regionals, held at the Auckland Performing Arts Centre, they were up against seasoned teams from MAGS, Northcote, and Diocesan. Our team was drawn to perform last, but managed to hold a tired audience in rapture. The first group of three students to perform consisted entirely of ESOL students, whose bravery and tenacity in standing up and performing in that environment was nothing short of extraordinary. For one student, it was the first time she had ever been part of an extra-curricular group.

Harper Spurway (Year 10) then performed a powerful solo piece about kaitiakitanga and mental health, after which one of the judges commented it “should have been performed in front of Parliament.” The third piece was a full group performance, written and choreographed by Sheneth Fernando (Year 11), which owned the stage and set a high bar for the next round of competition.

Sheneth drew on personal experience, sharing that something which happened “on a random Wednesday” triggered significant challenges and inspired his writing. “I wanted to bring awareness to teenage mental health and how simply asking someone about their day can create a huge impact,” he said. “I was able to open up about my experiences, empower other teenagers who can relate, and encourage them to speak up about the issues they face, especially during Mental Health Awareness Month.”

Harper reflected on the experience, noting that despite the competition, the other teams were friendly and supportive: “It was great to meet lots of like-minded, amazing young poets!”

Although the team was new to spoken word and had only attended two preparation workshops with competition facilitators, they performed with confidence and matched other schools in both content and delivery. Spoken word is set to continue growing at Avcol, and this experience was invaluable for the team.