Christine Pili is the mother of Benjamin Pili, a Year 7 student who started at Dilworth at the beginning of the year, weekly boarding.
Benjamin is Christine’s only child, so it was a particularly difficult decision to send him away from his home and community to attend Dilworth, she says. But she believed it was the best thing for him, balancing everything with her other commitments, including working at a school during the weekdays, caring for her sick parents, and supporting other children in her wider whānau who also needed her help.
After attending an Open Day, she and Benjamin talked it over together, and she recalls giving him this advice:
“There are some things I can give you and some things I can’t. Good learning and building your character with other boys around, I can’t give you at home”.
Small class sizes, resources and access to fantastic teachers are some of the things Christine says she has appreciated about Dilworth, along with the vast range of activities on offer. Benjamin has already represented the school in football, and she really likes the way Dilworth runs cultural days so that everyone feels valued.
On top of that, she says, Benjamin is learning some key life skills!
“He has learned new life skills, including organising his bedroom at home – he shows me how to do it at weekends”.
Christine says it is ‘quite a journey’ from primary school to Year 7 at Dilworth, and new parents need to be mindful of this.
“There is a different level of expectation, routines, transitions (between classes), and playing an instrument. My boy is learning to try new things – it has also taught him that he can’t always win, but at the same time has given him the motivation to try harder”.
Other things Christine values at Dilworth include clear benchmarking, which allows her to understand how her son is performing academically - she mentioned that this was difficult to determine at primary school. And of critical importance to her also is knowing that her son can stay true to his Samoan values.
While Christine says she misses Benjamin very much, their weekends have become a special time.
“I plan an outing with him every weekend, so we have a special time together. We might play golf, go bowling, walk our dog or meet up with other Dilworth friends or parents”.
Christine concludes, “I am happy for him. It has been a wonderful journey so far.”