MANY tears are shed at the Western English Language School (WELS) and most of them stem from joy or the sorrow of parting.
At the end of each term students who have spent the past six months learning English, and are now ready to enter the mainstream system, are farewelled.
The strong bonds formed between staff and students in such a short time mean the moment is always bittersweet.
Former teacher Colleen Bartolomei says that while it's always sad to say goodbye at graduation, it often isn't the last time staff see students as many return with updates on their new lives in Australia.
"Some girls have come back to us with their babies. They've succeeded in having a happy family and are excited to be teaching their own children to read, and that's as significant as anyone who has gone to uni."
Ms Bartolomei began teaching at WELS when it was a modest language centre with the use of a few portables at the former Tottenham Tehnical College.
She witnessed the centre growing as the migrant and refugee populations in the western suburbs grew. The first students came from Europe; next was a wave of Vietnamese speakers and then large groups of Somalians, Eastern Europeans and Sudanese.
"When it was [a lot of enrolments from] Croatia and Serbia it was quite dicey at times - not the students, because they were great, but the parents were very wary of each other."
The mix of backgrounds among students is reflected among staff.
Zac Petrevski has been teaching at the school for four years and, as a Macedonian migrant, can empathise with the sense of confusion that students experience on their first day. "It takes a while to really see the student, for them to come out of their shell and make friends, but they quickly gain confidence. Between the staff and multi-cultural language aids and their peers there is always someone who can support them.
"I came to Australia when I was 15, from a non-English-speaking background, and knew absolutely nothing. Thinking back, I know exactly what they are feeling and exactly what they need. That experience really helps."
The centre officially gained status as a school in 2000.
A staff of 60 teach 500 students at a main campus in Braybrook, a secondary campus in Wyndham and at seven outposts based at primary schools.
Most students stay for six to nine months before moving on, but others who have have "severely interrupted" schooling in their home country, or none at all, may stay for more than a year.
Ms Bartolomei says some students needed to learn about the system of education, as well as the language.
"The learning of language is only part of the game," she says.
"Some of these students have never sat in a classroom so it's impossible for them to sit still for more than five minutes.
"They've never held a pencil, or cut with scissors and that's highly embarrassing for a 14 or 15-year-old."
Vice-principal Mary Spyropoulos acknowledges the challenging nature of their work, but like all WELS teachers says the rewards far outweigh it.
"I wouldn't work anywhere else. It's quite joyous, there's a lot of good energy coming from the kids."
On the day the Mail visited, senior students were working on a film they had written and will direct in, act in and edit. The finished product will be shown to the entire school.
The teenagers laugh often as they boss each other around in English.
For Vy, who came from Vietnam, it is a novel project.
"In my country we haven't done that project before; we just study in the classroom and do sport.
"At my last school there were 60 students [in my class]. The teachers in Vietnam are not as friendly as here."
Email a friend