Boolarra Primary School is situated in a picturesque rural setting, at the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges in Central Gippsland Victoria. Boolarra is a small town of approximately 1000 residents (including outlying areas). Boolarra Primary School is an integral part of the community which is reflected in the motto “Connected to the Community, Dedicated to Learning”. The Boolarra community is both vibrant and active which enables the school to link with community organisations such as Boolarra Community Development Group, Boolarra Folk Festival Group, Boolarra Football and Netball Club. As part of the community the school will continue to foster and develop links within the Boolarra Community.
The school’s Student Family Occupation (SFO) is 4.4444. School Council endeavours to keep all costs to the school community to a minimum.
As a small rural school with an enrolment of approximately 50 students, staff and students have the capacity to build positive relationships with all. To support the positive social and emotional welfare of our students we deliver the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program in conjunction with Zones of Regulation. The main aims of these programs is to promote and model respect, positive attitudes and behaviours at Boolarra Primary School. Through explicit teaching our children learn how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence. We promote a healthy diet and support this by offering daily breakfast at school and fresh fruit in classrooms.
Our teachers aim to have all students making learning progress and programs are adapted so all students can access and develop their skills as well as knowledge. At every grade level we have students working at, above or below the expected level. Our teachers differentiate the curriculum in all classes. Small class sizes range around 18 students allowing optimal learning opportunities and individualised explicit teaching for every student. Boolarra Primary School currently runs three multi aged classrooms. Our school runs music, art, physical education and science and engineering as specialist classes on a weekly basis for all students. German classes are conducted via Webex through Mirboo North Secondary College on a weekly basis for our Grades 3-6 students. We also offer keyboard lessons on a user pays basis.
The school sits on the border of the South Gippsland and Latrobe Valley school networks but is affiliated with the Latrobe Valley network. Our foundation students are drawn predominantly from the local pre-school and the majority of graduating grade six students move on to attend Mirboo North Secondary College, although many students are eligible to attend Kurnai College in Churchill.