Star Stan pays old school surprise visit

source: http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/local/news/star-stan-pays-old-school-surprise-visit/3919508/

Hey Guys,

Only just saw this, did anyone watch it. How was it.

A Western Bay school will feature on current affairs show 60 Minutes tonight, thanks to a former pupil who now holds celebrity status.

Australian Idol winner Stan Walker attended Arataki School in Mount Maunganui as a 5-year-old before leaving for Australia, and returning to Arataki to complete Years 5 and 6.

Last Wednesday he paid the school a visit with a film crew from TV3, who are running an episode on Walker, and talked about what life has been like for him since winning Idol nine months ago.

The episode also touches on some of the hardships Walker has faced in life, including a hereditary illness, and his introduction to drugs at an early age.

Accompanying Walker was newsreader and journalist Mike McRoberts.

The episode was filmed in both Sydney and Mount Maunganui, including the Mount's Tamapahore Marae.

Principal of Arataki School Dene Langley said school management was asked to keep Walker's visit a secret from everyone, and when he turned up to the school assembly, he surprised children by performing Maori waiata He Kakano Ahau, borrowing a school guitar to assist him.

Mr Langley was principal when Walker attended Arataki, and remembers him as an energetic, cheeky child, with a love for drama.

"It was wonderful. He will always be a role model for the school," he said.

60 Minutes is on tonight, TV3, 7.30.

those kids must of went crazy when they saw him! aw you's got 60 minutes too lol. ours comes on sunday but when i first read this i thought it was the oz 60 minutes lol

Yes they did go crazy when they saw him - they performed a haka. He told them to work hard, listen to their teachers, not be naughty and not to wag school!
He talked about how his family left the Bay of Plenty to change their lives. When he goes back to visit they are still the same and many of his cousins his age are either in prison, deeply into drugs etc (the things he got into from age 9 onwards by 12 he said he was stealing, smoking dope & were what he was known for) or they already had kids.
He also talked about the stomach cancer gene in his family and how so many in the Marae cemetery are relatives who have died of the disease , how one relative has had her stomach taken out as a precaution as her mother died of the disease.
From the set of his "Choose You" video shoot he talked about how he focuses on the task at hand and not about his celebrity status etc, and it showed people coming up to him for photos and encouraging him etc.
It was a positive and balanced piece and showed him in Haiti and he spoke briefly about how it felt to go there.

thank you queentiger for that lovely tiger, yeah i doubt it will come to aus 60min

nah.. it won't come on the oz version..it would be great if it did lol

Aweeeeeeeeee he did well. I can only imagine how excited the kids were when Stan showed up

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