Parramatta West Public School sits at the heart of one of Australia's most culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Ninety per cent of its students come from a language background other than English and for many, Australia is their first experience of safety after years of displacement.

This Refugee Week, the school is celebrating not just the resilience of those students, but the program it has built to honour and draw on their experiences.

The school's unique Student Ambassador Program began through conversations with students, former students now in high school, and parents; all sharing what it felt like to arrive at an unfamiliar school in an unfamiliar country. What they described was a familiar mix of hope and disorientation.

Teachers, new friendships, and access to books were bright spots. But language barriers, confusion about classroom expectations, and the gap between schooling in Australia and in their home countries made those early days deeply challenging.

For many, the challenges were compounded by disrupted or minimal prior schooling, and the ongoing weight of their refugee experiences.

The program that emerged is intentional and structured, but also deeply human.

"This program provides opportunities for leadership development within the social-emotional domain," Deputy Principal Renee Stuart said.

"Student Ambassadors demonstrate strong empathy and sensitivity to the feelings of newly arrived students, as well as initiative and a willingness to take on this important responsibility.

“They are dedicated to ensuring our school is a welcoming community, so that all students feel a sense of belonging."

Representing 12 community languages, 30 Student Ambassadors from Years 4, 5 and 6 are matched with newly arrived peers who share their home language.

They attend a dedicated training day focused on empathy, social-emotional skills, and the practical art of translation. From there, they guide their buddies through everything from playground navigation to bilingual classroom presentations.

For Asma, a Year 6 student, the program's impact is personal.

When she arrived from Afghanistan in May 2025, she barely spoke any English and didn't know a single person at her new school. She remembers being nervous and worried she wasn't going to make friends.

"When I joined Parramatta West Public School, I knew that I was feeling like I didn't belong here," Asma recalls.

But having someone to speak Dari with; to ask questions, to laugh with, to simply be understood. made a difference. So did standing in front of her class and sharing her 'All About Me' poster, a bilingual presentation that is now a core element of the program, allowing students to share their culture and how they're feeling.

Just one year later, Asma is an Ambassador herself, helping other newly arrived students feel secure, connected and valued.

"Last year, I used to have someone who was helping me, and this year, it's my job to help others when they need my help," she said. "Now I feel like it's literally my home."

The program's dual purpose is one of its defining features. While it provides genuine, targeted support to newly arrived students, it simultaneously creates meaningful leadership opportunities for the students doing the supporting.

"Our job is to make new students who speak our language feel comfortable and familiar with their surroundings and also make sure that they have someone to talk to," says Year 6 student Anya, who speaks Nepali. "No matter what age, and no matter what year, we will let them feel safe and happy that they are here.”

"This role helped me become a better leader because I get to learn how to care for others and show my kindness to other people," adds Mahima in Year 5, who speaks Hindi.

Ms Stuart says the response has exceeded expectations.

"Student Ambassadors have become highly valued and respected voices in our school community,” she said.

“In 2026, many students were approaching us to be Ambassadors as they saw this leadership role as a way to make a difference in our community."

This year's Refugee Week theme is A million stories, and Parramatta West is marking it in ways that reflect the program's philosophy. Student Ambassadors are recording daily video messages for the whole school, teaching the word "welcome" in five key community languages and sharing facts about refugee experiences.

Classrooms are hosting daily 'turn and talk' discussions, and teachers are sharing literature, including bilingual stories read aloud by Student Ambassadors in their home language and English, that centres refugee voices and experiences.

It's an approach that goes beyond acknowledgment. It places students, their languages, their stories, their expertise, at the centre of the school's culture.

"It is important to have Student Ambassadors at our school because when I started school, I didn't know any English and I couldn't communicate with others,” says Maria, a Year 6 Student Ambassador who speaks Arabic.

"When you have an Ambassador, it's good because the people who come in the school can feel free to talk in their home language and feel safe.”

For students who have arrived carrying the weight of displacement, that sense of safety can be the difference between a place that feels foreign and one that feels like home.