Ultima Primary School

Ultima Primary School, established in 1902, is in a dry land farming area, 32 kilometres west of Swan Hill and approximately 350 kilometres northwest of Melbourne in the North-Western Region of the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. It is the focal point for the local rural community. Enrolment for 2021 is 2 students. Student enrolment is within the Junior levels i.e. year 2. The staff work cohesively as a team, planning collaboratively and providing critical support to each other. 2021 the main teaching staff will consist of one full-time teaching principal class and 1 part time classroom teacher. Another teacher on 12-months leave. The school is supported by a local Mobile Resource Centre which visits each week. Students work on self-directed tasks, at their own pace and are not constrained by having to wait for whole group teaching session to learn new skills. A significant strength of the school can be seen in the creative use of ICT in the classroom. The school is adopting a 21st century philosophy for digital learning of ‘anywhere, anytime learning’. All students have been provided with their own device that can be utilised at school and supported with an online learning environment. Students have access to digital learning devices, such as Webex, are supported with a computer ratio of 1:1. In 2021 the school will continue using iPads to further support classroom learning. Buildings include two dual purpose classrooms and offices, specialist rooms for cooking, art and science and an outdoor covered basketball court. The grounds are well maintained through by a local contractor. Parental involvement in the school is widely encouraged and the school is looking for more ways to be actively involved in its community.