Last weekend our 2023 Word -The Frontline (WTFL) Ōtautahi winners (Sophia Smith, Hadassah Timo, Micahlei Timo, Eseta Qalivutu and Harriet Rouch) made their way to Auckland for the WTFL Grand Slam event at the Aotea Centre

Six school teams from Auckland had won the honour through intense semi-final heats to take the Grand Slam stage.

The Grand Slam was a safe space for ākonga to share their stories, many of which focussed around relationships, music, culture and stereotypes young people face in society. Nga Puna o Waiorea was crowned as the 2023 champions.

The WTFL spoken word videos are available at https://www.actioneducation.co.nz/

WTFL Ōtautahi is the first inter-high school poetry slam event of its kind. Christchurch Girls’ High School /Te Kura o Hine Waiora competed against five other teams from Cashmere High School, Te Aratai, Haeata Community Campus and Papanui High School for the coveted title of the inaugural WTFL champions. Following their win, our Christchurch Girls’ High School /Te Kura o Hine Waiora students were invited to share two of their own original pieces at the Auckland Grand Slam. Sophia shared her piece “My mother's tongue" at the start of the evening and the group piece ‘Uso’ by Hadassah, Micahlei and Eseta closed the evening. 

Our ākonga represented our kura with poetic prowess, pride, poise and passion.  Although a jam-packed weekend, it was one where students made connections, shared their stories, ate plenty of good food, had a little bit of sleep and where a trip to the YouKnow Clothing shop couldn’t be missed! These opportunities open so many avenues for our ākonga to make connections and be inspired to work towards their next goals of strengthening their writing craft, and building the legacy and momentum at our kura, where young women can story their aspirations for their whānau, community and self through spoken word poetry.

We want to acknowledge Action Education for their incredible support and our Christchurch Girls’ High School /Te Kura o Hine Waiora coach, Daisy Lavea-Timo, for supporting and inspiring our ākonga.