Tonight on Sunday ` how to sort your boys out the no-nonsense way ` the Tim O'Connor way. BOY: We are Palmie! This is what we do! Don't like what we do, don't come. Old-fashioned values. Shirts in, socks up, no hair gel. Disciplinary, conservative and competitive. It's great, eh? (CHUCKLES) BOYS CHANT HAKA You're not into the warm fuzzies. You're not into the warm fuzzies. No. I guess I look like your normal happy teenager. Young people on the brink. What did I do to deserve this? What it's like to be bullied. I just wanted some friends. I didn't have any. You thought he was lying. You thought he was lying. Yes. I did. You know, I wish I could say I could make it stop. I can't. # Vincero. # Likened to the greatest. That is a sound that I am sure Pavarotti made when he was a young man. Out of Mangere... # Hallelujah. ...and on to the world stage. # Hallelujah. # Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012 Kia ora, I'm Miriama Kamo. You call him 'sir' if you're at Palmerston North Boys High. Tim O'Connor is the rector there, and it's the O'Connor way or the highway. No cellphones, hair cut above the ears, rules in black and white. Tim O'Connor says that's what boys need at school. And his disciplinary approach has made a big impression on another top state school ` Auckland Grammar. So much so, he's been headhunted. Ian Sinclair with Mr O'Connor. BOY: We are Palmie! This is what we do! ALL: We are Palmie! This is what we do! We've come to play rugby. We didn't come to lose. ALL: We've come to play rugby. We didn't come to lose. From Palmie Boys, a lesson ` if you want to forge the finest from young men, throw them a challenge. Let's go, Palmie! Let's go, Palmie! Palmie all day! So what do you think of the state of NZ education? I don't think it's in great heart ` not in the secondary environment. I think there's a` We` We need to put more rigour into` into what we do. BOYS SING A rigour that at Palmerston North Boys High they call the O'Connor way. School head Tim O'Connor argues that's the best way for teaching boys. BELL CLANGS School, stand. My philosophy is to tell it straight and to allow boys to understand exactly where they stand in a pretty black and white environment. So in Palmie Boys, when they say, 'Pull your socks up,' they really mean it. So shirts in and socks up, shoes ` black leather lace-up shoes, polished. No hair gel. Hair is expected to be off the collar and off the ears. Hey, oi, jersey. Here's a school head that's at the gate every day scanning the lads for any drop in standard. When you check them out, what do you look for? Oh, I'm checking whether their socks are up in the first instance or there's a` if the hair's too long or something like that. See, Michael, your haircut's much better than your brother's. You can whip round to the` to the barber round the corner and she'll give you a haircut and, uh, you can fix them up later. The expectation of boys to greet teachers as 'sir', 'miss', uh, stand up if a guest comes into the room. Morning, gentlemen. Morning, gentlemen. ALL: Morning, sir. Open the door if, uh, an adult is coming through or a guest. Now, there are those who'd say this is the 21st century. It's not the 20th, and it's not the 19th. You're too traditional. You're too traditional. It's great, eh? (LAUGHS) Uh, well, people who... People` We would say vote with your feet. If you don't like what we do, don't come. Because you could find the school head walking the hard line with drug dogs. You don't pull any punches, then? You don't pull any punches, then? No, look, we bring` Well, we had drug dogs in last week, uh, and, uh, we would bring them in maybe five or six times a year ` not only through here, but` but through our hostel as well. And, look, that's not about being reactionary. That's actually about saying we care for our environment, and we want to keep it safe and free from drugs so that everyone, um, can get on with learning. Is that kind of drama, though`? Is it good for the image of the school? Oh, who cares? Who cares whether it is or isn't? I think, at the end of the day, if we're doing what is best for the young people in our care, then that's what's important. Tim O'Connor's proof of the pudding ` a glowing report from the Education Review Office ` ERO. 74 scholarships last year, and with` within a cohort of 215 year 13 or seventh-formers, um, and a UE pass rate in excess of 80% ` um, I think they're pretty good indicators that, uh, boys are getting a very good education here. The O'Connor way is just the one he learned as a pupil at Palmie Boys. In the school's war memorial hall, you can still see where a young Tim signed up for the Palmie way. Yeah, that's me in 1981 as a third-former, and, yeah, every third-former that comes into the school comes into the memorial gallery and signs their name. All in a shrine to young men who made themselves accountable ` traditional values he believes we must hold on to in education as well. My ideal would be to see more of a Palmie Boys ethos actually put into all schools in the country. To his leadership team, that means no soft options with NCEA and a reality check for Education Minister Hekia Parata. For example, if we said, you know, Hekia Parata's latest policy is to have 85% of students passing NCEA level two, well, you know,... we` she's fudging it. we` she's fudging it. How? Because by setting that target and having a really quite a liberal edu` qualification system, uh, that is allowing schools to pick and choose what standards that they offer students, then schools will choose more vocational standards in mainstream subjects to reach that target. And they're not going to know anything more. In other words, don't make courses easier just to raise the pass rate. So in a sense, are they faking it? Yeah, I think they` they do fake it. I think they end up giving students false hope. They give them a` They can earn the qualification, but does the qualification have a backbone? I'd suggest to you that there are more and more young people leaving school with a qualification that is meaningless. Who would be most annoyed do you think this the stand you take? Oh, probably the` the more liberal left schools. Um, those` those people who` who mocked School Certificate and who mocked an old examination system. I'm happy to respect those views. I'm just saying, from my experience, we know what works for boys, In his book, the way to results is competition. BELL RINGS And right now, Palmie School's hopes rest on the shoulders of one young man ` first 15 captain Johnny Galloway. BOYS CHANT HAKA At odds, the Polson Banner ` a rugby trophy they've fought over with Napier Boys since 1904. And you've got it at the moment, I see. You hold the trophy. You've held it for about... Two consecutive years. Yeah, it'll be three, won't it, Johnny? Two consecutive years. Yeah, it'll be three, won't it, Johnny? Yep. < How's your team? < How's your team? Oh, looking pretty good. Should go into it good tomorrow. Hopefully come away with a win, bring it back. What we, uh, want to see is the competitive spirit. We want to see everything left on the field without question and, uh` and a 'never say die' attitude. You're not into the warm fuzzies? You're not into the warm fuzzies? No. If every one gets a medal for participation, you don't learn anything. So tomorrow we want you to win. For Tim O'Connor, the message ` at least give it your all. So starting with grooming ` making sure that if your grooming's not right now, that it is by tomorrow morning so that as you're going on to the bus, we don't have an issue and go, 'No, your hair's not right. You're not going.' Shoes polished, socks up, garters on. It's not a holiday camp. Get all those things right, then the results will come. Next up ` You've got less than 4% of NZ children go to private schools. Now, there's a reason for that. the grammar school that backs the O'Connor way. That state school ethos is really important to us. BOYS CHANT HAKA And one last score for Tim's team to settle. ALL: Hi! DOOR SHUTS, RAUCOUS MALE LAUGHTER Yo, Donna! Sorry, Darryl. It's not Donna time; it's Mum time. Sit your drunken ass down there. Why? (LAUGHS) Why? (LAUGHS) Cos you lot are special to me. Aw. Look, I'm not saying anything till I have my lawyer present. (LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) You're driving pissed too often, Darryl. Uncle Gav. Mum thinks you're dumb. Uncle Gav. Mum thinks you're dumb. No, you are! Hey! (KISSES, LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) I think you're all dumb. (LAUGHS) I think you're all dumb. Oh. Why? You need to talk to your nephews and you to your brother about you lot driving home pissed every weekend. You're no saint. You're no saint. Yeah, I know that. But we've all got to stop. Now, I've said my bit. Who wants to go next? Who wants to go next? (CHUCKLES) < This is awkward. CHORAL SINGING In the hallowed halls of Auckland Grammar, they reckon they know the secret to teaching boys. Boys in boys schools do amazingly better ` much better. Grammar head John Morris believes co-ed schools can cramp a boy's style. Boys in boys schools much more often get involved in singing groups or drama ` you know, things that are a little bit edgy that they wouldn't get involved in a co-ed, because, hey, oh no, that's not the way it is. You've gotta impress girls and what have you. Whereas here they can be their natural selves. Following on from that, it's a pleasure this morning to present NZ rep badges to H Watt and F Wilson. Take out the distraction, add competition, and he reckons boys will shine. The honours boards you see in the main hall ` they're our top scholars. They're ranked. They're ranked from one down to however many pass scholarship that year. And one of the major reasons that we didn't like NCEA was there was no marks, there's no grades. Nobody really knows where they stand in everything. We wanted to maintain those honours boards forever and know the person who's on top of the honours board is the top of the tree academically for that year, School, stand, thank you. When John Morris retires at the end of this term... Palmie North head Tim O'Connor takes his place. Grammar is a school like Palmerston North Boys High School that, uh, in my view, has high` high standards. It's a flagship school in this country. It's a state school, and I have a strong belief in state education, and I want to see state education in good heart. So, for a head coming from Palmerston North to here at Auckland Grammar, what would the contrasts be? We have something like 70-odd different nationalities, um, and, you know, European Pakeha NZers number barely 50%. You add up all the other various nationalities, you've got a real polyglot community here at Grammar which would not be the same as Palmerston. There's a bit of difference in composition, which I guess any` any` well, anybody coming in to lead the school needs to be aware of. But first things first ` Palmie Boys has a game of rugby to win. This banner has been around... Captain Johnny Galloway is revving up the team. Every single first 15 member that gone before us has played for this. 108 years. Everyone that's gone before us. When we get out there, we take no backward steps, all right? This is coming home with us on the bus. The Polson Banner ` it's the oldest inter-school rugby trophy in NZ. Napier Boys High is the old rival; Johnny's team the defending champs. When you see your son leading a team on to the field like that, what do you feel? > For me, I am exceptionally proud. BOYS CHANT HAKA Johnny's parents know the team's passion for the game. They train nearly every day. They train nearly every day. < WOMAN: Twice a day. They train nearly every day. < WOMAN: Twice a day. Twice a day, you know, and, um... And, uh, when you throw that in amongst their school work as well, and, um, it's a big ask. They enrolled Johnny into Palmie from out of area. And it was just... (CLICK FINGERS) this is the place ` mm, just like that. This will be Tim O'Connor's last Polson Banner. Next time round, he'll be running things at Grammar. I explained to the boys in assembly when I had accepted the headmaster's position that this was around providing myself with a new challenge, that there are many` there's many a day I've stood at the lectern and said to the boys, 'Don't avoid the soft options. 'You know, make sure that you have a shiver run up your spine. 'You accept new challenges. Don't avoid them.' You knew that every person in that assembly hall was absolutely gutted. Palmie's head boys say news of his departure hit like a bombshell. The faces on people, like, yeah, just the whole school's reaction ` the silence was just, like, 'Wow, like, we're losing him.' Everyone sort of realises how big a part he is to the school and what he's done for everyone, so I think he will be missed. APPLAUSE, CHEERING But today in Napier, the applause is not for Tim O'Connor's school. ALL SING CHEERING Palmerston North has taken a drubbing from its old rival; defeat a bitter pill for Johnny to swallow. Well, we're gonna have to pick it up, work on the things that we got wrong, especially our ruck D. We'll work on that and try and take it into New Plymouth next week in our national knock-out campaign. And back for revenge next year? Um, well, I think we've got them again in another 10 days, so hopefully we'll get them then. And that, says Tim O'Connor, is the true Palmie spirit. It's always tough, uh, losing, but the thing that I like seeing from the boys is that when they lose that their reactions, uh, are the right ones, and that is that you don't drop your lip, that you take it and, uh, you show that a loss will not define you. The real winner to Tim O'Connor is the heartening sight of young men educated in a state system, proud in the belief that their schools are second to none. Many would think that we're a` schools like us ` both Napier Boys and Palmie Boys ` that we're private schools, and overseas perhaps we would be, but the beauty about our schools in this country is that we are state schools, and they're available to anyone who wants to` to belong to them. If you'd like to take up any issues about the O'Connor way of handling boys, you can reach him online. He's live right now on our website. Just click on the link to chat to him. Well, next up ` bullying. Cameras catch the cruelty in a school bus. THUMPING THUMPING BOY: Give it to him hard! I... took it as a joke, because, I mean, I just wanted some friends. I didn't have any. < MAN: Oh, gee. Ooh! Extra Active with dual crystal strips helps give you a clean, fresh and healthy mouth. Now available in new berry flavour and watermelon flavour. Welcome back. The government has put cyberbullies on notice ` stop the offensive behaviour or face the prospect of being named, shamed, even fined or jailed. The crackdown comes as the story of young Olivia Penpraze emerged this week. An outwardly pretty and brave Melbourne teenager, she went online posting a heart-wrenching video calling for an end to bullying. 15,000 people saw that video, but no one saw the signals. Now, this story is a very raw account of the extreme impact of bullying. Young and vulnerable people should not watch it alone. Here's Ross Coulthard. I suck at introductions, and I don't even know where to start. I guess, my name is Liv, and I guess I look like your normal happy teenager. # Spend all your time waiting. # When was the first glimmer that there was something wrong? Probably from about grade 5, grade 6, when she started to have some bullying-type approaches from other kids. Mainly the name calling and just, uh` the kids would sort of say, 'Look, you can't come and play here.' Or, 'You're not invited. You're excluded.' Where did all my problems come from? How did it come to this? What did I do to deserve this? I asked myself questions like this for years until my psychiatrist asked me about my childhood, and then it hit me ` bullying. 'No one even likes you. 'You're a waste of space. 'Just go kill yourself already. You're better off dead.' 19 years old, Olivia Penpraze posted her desperate and suicidal message on the net. Her parents were unaware, but thousands saw it and many responded. I don't want to upset you, but there are people saying, 'Well, why don't you kill yourself?' Aren't they? > Yep, they are. We have gathered to remember and to give thanks for the life of Olivia, to honour her and to mourn her. GIRL: She had a quality that was different to other girls. She had maturity that others did not have. This came from a deep pain and a place that no young girl should ever have to be. I can't pretend that I'm OK. I'm going to go away... and no one will notice. So, what we're looking at here ` these are the comments that you found on the Tumblr blog. As much as her parents tried to monitor Olivia's online life, she kept much of it secret by using false names and different accounts. This other life, as they would discover, was filled with strangers bullying her, urging her to kill herself. An anonymous person has asked her, 'Just <BLEEP>ing die already.' 'You've pulled this "I'm going to kill myself soon" at least 10 times in the last six months, 'so either shut the <BLEEP> up or just do it.' In the US, the traumatic world of bullying has been exposed by this new documentary. < Why are you punching me? Filmed over a year, this is one example. No, no, no, ow! Why are you stabbing me with it? Every day, Alex ` at the time 12 years old ` rode this bus to school. God! BOY: Give it to him hard! I took it as a joke, because, I mean, I just wanted some friends. I didn't have any. I didn't have any. < Oh, gee. I didn't have any. < Oh, gee. TV: Give it to him hard. > I want to know, Jackie, how did you feel when you saw that for the first time? (CLEARS THROAT) It's a very difficult question to answer, just cos I felt... a million things. Um, I felt about every emotion,... (CLEARS THROAT) excuse me, except for happy. Until you saw this... Right. Right. ...you thought he was lying. Right. ...you thought he was lying. Yes. I did. I went home, like, almost every day feeling depressed or looking depressed. They didn't know why for the longest time. Did any of the incidents get reported to the police? > No, they didn't even get reported to me. I'd like to see Kim or Carla or... It's a common complaint of parents ` they're the last to know. How can I help you guys? My voice is shaking. I'm very upset. When his mother and father were shown the vision, they went straight to his school. It's absolutely not acceptable. I mean, they're stabbing him with pencils and choking him and... Buses are notorious... ly bad places for lots of kids. I` You know, I wish I could say I could make it stop on that, but I'm not going to lie to you ` I can't. Had she seen this vision by that stage? Yes. Yes. Was she aware of it? Yes. Was she aware of it? She had seen it. I real feel bad that this happened. I real feel bad that this happened. You send kids to school assuming if they're out of your care, they're in someone else's who's as capable as you of keeping them safe. EMOTIONALLY: And I don't feel like that. He's not safe on that bus, and` < Oh, I know, I know. It's hard. It is hard. And you know what? This is my day on Thursday. This is my granddaughter and her new baby brother. I'd be sitting there crying just like you if anything happened to those two kids. < BRIGHTLY: See my new baby? Huh? < We don't want anything to happen to these babies, any of 'em. I think I lost all my words. I didn't... (SIGHS) I went there looking for help, and I was pretty much told that, um, I was nuts and could I please exit her office? (LAUGHS) And I really am glad you came in. Come on. Goodbye, sweetie. Thanks again. Thank you. Thank you. I'll talk to you later, OK? Thank you. I'll talk to you later, OK? All right. There's absolutely nothing to describe the sense of hopelessness that you feel. The message seems to be there's nothing you can do about bullying. > Right. Right. Is that true? > No, I don't think so. I mean, th... they're children. Come on, Alex. Strike it out. > I mean, if you say there's nothing you can do, then you're basically giving them a whole lot of power. I mean, they're children. It's our job to mould them, to decide who they're going to be. That's not their job. But that's basically the power that they've been given at this point. It's mind-blowing, isn't it? Maybe some hope when we get back ` the teacher tries to broker peace between the bully and the bullied. All right, can you try to get along? I think you guys might be really good friends at some time. We were, and then he started bullying me. Welcome back. It's a personal hell for bullying victims, and teachers also struggle with the problem. We discover that, in America at least, teachers are ill-equipped and unable to deal with bullying. Ross Coulthard takes up the story again, and a reminder ` this story deals with the extreme impact of bullying, and young and vulnerable people should not watch this alone. For many parents, it's not only the bullies who've become desensitised... (SIGHS) Are you all right, Cole? ...but the teachers whose job it is to protect vulnerable children like Cole. Cole, stay right here. Right here. I'm going to ask you guys to shake hands. Can you do that? I'm going to ask you guys to shake hands. Can you do that? Yeah. Shake hands. Cole! Cole? Cole? What? Cole? What? You are not going anywhere. He is offering his hand and let this drop. (SCOFFS) You may go. Cole, I expected more. Cos they criticise me every single day. Then why are you around him? I don't. He comes to me. I try to get away from him. He follows me and then criticises me, calling me a P-U-S-S-Y. OK, honey, that's not right, and he shouldn't do that. I don't even` I don't even` But, you know what, he was trying to say he was sorry. He already did and he didn't mean it and then he continued on. You know what, you didn't mean it when you stuck your hand out either. So that means you're just like him, right? What you don't like in him` What you don't like in him` Except I don't hurt people. By not shaking his hand, you're just like him. Like someone who pushes you into walls, threatens to break your arm, threatens to stab you and kill you, shoot you with a gun? threatens to stab you and kill you, shoot you with a gun? OK, he` he` he apologised. And have you reported all that sort of stuff? And have you reported all that sort of stuff? Yes. OK, then, it's been taken care of. OK, then, it's been taken care of. They told` All of them said, even the cops said` told him to stay away from me, and he doesn't. All right. Can you try to get along? I think you guys might be really good friends at some time. We were, and then he started bullying me. Tell somebody. Uh, give your parents the benefit of the doubt. Um, you know, a lot of these kids, you know, have taken their lives, and no one can help them now. (SIGHS) This was Troy's room, and this was Tyler's room, and when David opened the door, that was Tyler's bed and he saw the note lying on the bed. But of course, you can't see into the closet from here, cos it's just a door, so when David walked in is when he saw the inside of the closet and there was Tyler. And then, of course, David yelled for me and Troy got up, so Troy... saw everything. He saw everything. Cos all we see when we come in here still... (CLEARS THROAT) is the picture of Tyler hanging there. So we had to change` we had to change everything, and now this is headquarters ` headquarters for the emails, headquarters for... our project of working to keep Tyler's voice alive. (SIGHS) We took the shelf down. We took the shelf down, you can see. INDISTINCT SPEECH Mrs Kuslic, open a window. Open a window. WOMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY > WOMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY > Yes, yes. Come here, sweetie. Cody, can you tell me what's happening at lunch table? Cody, can you tell me what's happening at lunch table? He` He calls me a faggot. < Mm-hm, he does? How does that make you feel? Uh, it breaks... It breaks my heart. < It breaks your heart? I see. What are the warning signs? I mean, there'll be mums and dads, brothers and sisters watching this now > who are saying, 'OK, what do I watch out for? How do I know there's a problem?' > 'If their outwardly bubbly and vivacious, as your beautiful daughter was, 'how do I know there's a problem?' It's just a slow withdrawal from activities they might have been doing with the family. That's what we found with Olivia is just slowly not interested in going out as often, not interested in playing her sports, not interested in her choir and` and just struggling with some of the school and then finding that, um, the absenteeism from school was getting quite high, so you need to watch that one. # ...that I can live without you, # but without you I'll be miserable at best. # You're all that I hoped I'd find # in every single way. # And everything I would give # is everything you couldn't take. # Cos nothing feels like home. # You're a thousand miles away. # And the hardest part of living # is just taking breaths to stay... I sort of feel like that she wanted to tell people what she was diagnosed with and` and why` and how she got it. She wanted to tell her family and her friends, you know, like a goodbye message sort of thing. # Let's not pretend like you're alone tonight. # I know he's there and... # Because she left a message, didn't she? She's saying exactly what we're saying here. Yeah. If you know someone who's got depression and is talking about killing themselves, talk about it. Yep, someone can help you. Now, if you're being bullied or someone you know is being bullied, as we've just heard, it will help to talk to someone. So here's some numbers to help you. Now, all the numbers and other information are on our website. When we come back, the amazing Pati brothers ` they're tenors, rising stars. Today, Mangere; tomorrow, the world. # Vincero. # Vincero. # BOTH LAUGH, CHEER Welcome back. In the world of opera, a true tenor voice is rare and highly prized. It's the voice that gives you goosebumps ` think Pavarotti and Domingo. But two tenors from one family? Now, that really is an amazing genetic happenstance. Not to mention they're from Mangere in South Auckland. This is the story of the Pati brothers ` Pene, 24, and Amitai, 23 ` big boys with big voices. They grew up never realising their extraordinary talent and just how far it could take them. This from Janet McIntyre. People say, 'Oh, you should have a career in singing.' We're, like, 'What? I don't get it. 'Why have a career in singing? Everyone can sing.' We never saw it as a talent. # All'alba vincero. # Vincero. # Vincero. # BOTH LAUGH, CHEER MAROON 5'S 'MOVES LIKE JAGGER' # Just shoot for the stars. Raised in South Auckland... # And aim for my heart # if you feel like... ...heading for the world stage. # And make it OK. # If this is what they're singing like now, they're destined for big things. It was school choir master Terence Maskell who spotted the talent that brothers Pene and Amitai Pati never knew they had. Their music came to them very naturally, very easily, and I guess at times they wondered why everyone else in the world couldn't do it. When someone couldn't harmonise, we're, like, 'What's wrong with you? Why can't you do it?' Harmonising's really hard. Harmonising's really hard. Oh,... I don't know. (CHUCKLES) Harmonising's really hard. Oh,... I don't know. (CHUCKLES) Yeah, exactly, exactly. Give me an idea how easy it is for you. Give me an idea how easy it is for you. Oh, OK. Have you got a song? Amazing Grace? Yep. Yep. Is that too hard? That's` > Yep. Is that too hard? That's` > No, that's fine. (LAUGHS) # Amazing... # ...grace, # how sweet the sound... Switch! Switch! # that saved a wretch like me. # # Hallelujah. # Hallelujah. In their first professional public performance in Cambridge ` a fund-raiser to further their studies ` no one was more impressed than opera legend Dame Malvina Major. # Hallelujah. # Hallelujah. Two find two such amazing tenors in one family, and it all comes from the heart. # Hallelujah. What I just saw in Pene tonight ` I think that he's a young Pavarotti. # Hallelujah. # That is a sound that I'm sure and I know Pavarotti made when he was a young man. APPLAUSE They grew up in Mangere, loving brothers, 20 months apart. And older sisters, Torres and Evangeline. Their parents brought them here from Samoa for a better life. My dad is from` Bless him. He's from a very very poor family in Samoa, and he's struggled all his life to kind of like bring us here to NZ. And same as my mum ` they're from, like, very poor families. Pene and Amitai went without luxuries. Couldn't afford a ball. Sometimes even the basics. Simple things, like... Stuff like you didn't have lunch kind of stuff. (LAUGHS) 'You just go to school and get full on the tap water.' That's what they used to say. Really? > Really? > 'Just say drink water and you'll always feel full.' Even though we were both working, um, we always had to, um, fulfil our obligations with the family back home in the island, so we had to send money and... Juliet and Pene Senior, who trained to become registered nurses here, admit they made sacrifices. The kids were the last people to have anything. You know, when they asked for money school or,... we always says, 'Um, we have to give money for the family first before we, um, do something to you guys.' ALL SING IN SAMOAN But what Pene and the other kids did have was music ` all of them blessed. I was 4 when I started singing. Obviously, he was 2, so he was being carried around. That's Pene on the left next to Amitai taking part in a weekly ritual... BOTH: The Von Trapp family. ...entertaining the patients where their parents worked. If we hadn't have done that, we wouldn't have, um, been singing today, and I'm very very sure it was that, it was church, it was singing from a young, young age. CHORAL SINGING And then as students of Aorere College in Papatoetoe ` a school where music is the lifeblood. Was there one defining moment when someone recognised in you something really quite magical? It was probably` I think it was Terence. It was probably` I think it was Terence. I think it was Terence as well. ALL SING IN HARMONY Terence Maskell, master of some of the most successful school choirs in the country. He's been immersed in Polynesian voices for almost 40 years, but two voices have risen above most others. Oh, see, now, this is` What? When did they change this? Oh! Hello, sir. Hello, sir. Talofa lava 'oulua. Hello, sir. Talofa lava 'oulua. BOTH LAUGH 'These two are something out of the box. 'They have a natural God-given talent, and it is just wonderful to see it flourishing right now.' It's good to see you too. Over 10 years at school and in private lessons, he nurtured, sometimes prodded, his proteges. So, they could be distracted at times? Oh yes. They would try to pull the wool ` like when they hadn't done any work. It didn't wash. BOTH LAUGH BOTH LAUGH How do you mean pull the wool? Well, you know, um, 'Look, I'm finding this a bit tricky.' Rubbish. He hadn't even looked at it, you know. I would say, and this is a generalisation, but probably true, for most of their lives, these guys have had it easy. It's come naturally to them. There has not been the need to do much work, but now they are. Now when I look back on it, I'm very very thankful I did it. I'm very thankful for all the growlings and for all` < Oh, thanks (!) < Oh, thanks (!) For being pushed ` for being pushed to do it, cos he actually saw the potential, you know. It's, like, you know, 'Don't give in now. I'm just gonna keep kicking you until you get it right.' # It's now or never. # Come hold me tight. # Kiss me, my darling. # Be mine tonight. # Tomorrow # will be... # too late. # It's now or never. # My love won't wait. I wanna be successful. I wanna show the world that you're from a very poor family ` very poor family in Samoa ` that even us` even we can make it to the top. (SINGS HIGH NOTE) (SINGS HIGH NOTE) (SINGS HIGHER NOTE) LAUGHTER CHEERING TO THE TUNE OF 'NOW OR NEVER': # Ma n'atu sole. # Cchiu bello oje ne. # O sole mio. # Sta 'nfronte a te. # O sole, # o sole mio. # Sta 'nfronte a te. # Sta 'nfronte a te. # APPLAUSE, CHEERING (SINGS IN ITALIAN) Pene is on his way. (SINGS IN ITALIAN) He's bagged the most prestigious singing prize in Australia, and this year, by invitation, he's been studying at the elite Academy of Voice in Wales. He's been hanging out, in his spare time, with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. She's a motherly figure for me in` in the UK. I stayed with her for a week. When it comes to professionalism, she has it sorted: 'This is what you have to do. 'You have to be at that time.' There's no mucking around. It's very firm, very strict, but that's what you need in professionalism. But when it comes to just staying around in her house, just you kind of forget that you're with this renowned legend. You know, you're sitting there going, 'I'm sitting having breakfast with Kiri. This is weird.' (SINGS IN ITALIAN) She's been such an amazing mentor, an amazing... And she will continue to be. PHONE RINGS Hi, Christine. Hi, Christine. Yeah, hi. How you going, Amitai? Hi, Christine. Yeah, hi. How you going, Amitai? Oh, very well thank you. You're a big star at the moment, aren't you? You're a big star at the moment, aren't you? Oh, I'd like to think so. (LAUGHS) Big star! (SCOFFS) Success too for Amitai. I just wanted to let you know you're one of the six finalists for the... (LAUGHS) Hello? Hello? Whoa, uh... (LAUGHS) Hello? Hello? Hi, Chr` Yes, yes, I'm here. I'm here. A finalist in NZ's premier song quest ` the Lexus ` in two week's time. Very very important, because, um, I'm looking just to improve and get better. And hopefully with this competition, uh, I can do that. I guess I do have to watch my tail, because he possesses the same trait and the same voice, the same, um` if not anything, a better musicality, you know, and so` and he's worked so hard at it, and it's, like, he's just gotta be more disciplined. Good food, good singing ` can't go wrong. Pene's home from Wales on holiday. Raw fish ` now, you try explaining that to the Welsh. And when he returns, he'll be taking his little brother with him. Amitai too has been invited to the academy. It makes me really happy, you know, to think that, um, my kids come that far, you know. Two tenors ` it's difficult to find anywhere, you see. So where did that come from? BOTH LAUGH BOTH LAUGH She` She never want to mention me. (LAUGHS) # Oh, after the loving, # I'm still in love # with you. # It's safe to say the Pati boys won't forget where they've come from. I love you, Mum. I love you, Mum. LAUGHTER How far do you want to go with this? To the very top. My ultimate goal that I set as a little kid was to one day stand on a stage and that everybody in the auditorium has paid to come and listen to me sing. Being able to sing in recital kind of next to this guy. Look out from the stage and kind of just say, you know, 'Well, I've` I'm here now. 'And, yeah, we did it.' From nothing to something. From nothing to something. Yeah, absolutely. # Tu pure, o, Principessa, # nella tua fredda stanza. # Vincero. # Vincero. # APPLAUSE, CHEERING Oh, I love them! Best of luck, guys. Pene and Amitai recently formed a band with their friend ` baritone Moses Mackay. They're called Sole Mio. Now, do send us your feedback on our Facebook page ` Sunday TVNZ. Meanwhile, we'll leave you with one last song from Aorere College. Thanks for joining us. Nga mihi nui, hei kona. APPLAUSE APPLAUSE # Yes, there were times, # I'm sure you knew, # when I bit off... # He bit off. # He bit off. # ...more than I could chew. # He bit off. # ...more than I could chew. # More than he could chew. # But through it... # But through it... # ...all,... # ...when there was doubt, # I ate it up, # then spat it out. # He did it, he did it, he did it. # He did it, he did it, he did it. # I faced it... # He did it, he did it, he did it. # I faced it... # ...all,... # ...and I stood tall.