I extend a warm welcome to you and your family. I am immensely proud of our wonderful school and also very proud to be the Principal. It is a privilege for me to work with our students, our staff and our families every day to make our school they very best it can be.

We aim to create a safe, nurturing yet challenging environment that is built on positive relationships; developing the whole student – emotionally, socially and academically.  We want each of our students to leave our school with the values of respect, leadership and creativity whilst striving for excellence in underpinning all that they do.

At Tullamarine Primary School we utilise the School Wide Positive Behaviour Support framework to create and maintain a positive and safe learning environment. It enhances our school culture and allows us to maximise individual academic and social growth.  We have developed explicit expectations around expected positive behaviours in all areas of the school.  Students are recognised for positive behaviours as staff and students are all aware of the agreed consequences when positive behaviours are not demonstrated.

The development of the leadership skills of both students and staff is a high priority within the school. Students from Years 1 to 6 have the opportunity to join the Junior School Council whilst students in Years 5 and 6 are offered other leadership opportunities such as School Captain and House Captain roles.  Ongoing Staff professional learning ensures that we continually improve the quality of learning and teaching at Tullamarine Primary School. We believe that the most important thing we can do to improve student learning outcomes is to develop and improve the skills of our teachers.

We provide an appealing and stimulating curriculum that is flexible and tailored to the needs of each and every student as we strive for high educational outcomes and personal bests for all of our students. Our passionate teachers ensure our students grow in confidence and capabilities and develop the skills for the rapidly changing, 21st century living.

We encourage the involvement of the community in our learning, developing true partnerships that value each student. There are many opportunities for parental and community involvement at various levels across the school e.g. School Council, Parents and Friends (PFA), classroom parent helper. We hope that through your participation and interest you will also come to feel very much a part of our school and its community.

I invite you to contact the school office to arrange a time for a personal tour. I would appreciate the opportunity to show you through our wonderful school.

Thank you for visiting our website and welcome to our school.

Anna Ruhle
PRINCIPAL

Tullamarine Primary School’s current enrolment is about 255 students and our clientele is drawn from over 30 suburbs. Our school values of Respect, Resilience and Teamwork are well supported by our entire school community.

The school is close to Melbourne Airport and is accessible via the Tullamarine Freeway. The school is committed to high academic standards and high expectations of all students. We are focused on providing all students with a strong foundation for learning for life. We recognise that it is essential to establish strong links between the school, the home, neighbouring schools and pre-school providers. Our school promotes a shared learning partnership with the realisation that student achievement is enhanced by effective communication, including meaningful assessment and reporting practices.

We are part of the Hume Merri-bek Network of schools in the North-Western Victoria Region. The school is committed to implementing high quality Literacy and Numeracy programs, as well as building even further on past and recent successes. The school has a close relationship with the neighbouring secondary colleges, primary schools and kindergartens.

The school serves an increasingly multi-cultural population.  33% of students have at least one parent born in a non-English speaking country and 17% live in households where English is not the main language and over 24 nationalities are represented in the school.

The school sits on a large level site which has been upgraded in recent years to include brand new classrooms and furniture, synthetic grass oval, passive space, a large and well-shaded adventure playground and a large covered outdoor and activities area.  The school believes that this engaging playground contributes to positive student relationships.

The school is organised into four Learning Communities covering Foundation, Years 1 and 2, Years 3 and 4, and Years 5 and 6.  The Learning Communities are organised into composite classes of 20-24 students.

The school offers a comprehensive curriculum in line with the Victorian Curriculum.  Specialist and support programs include: Physical Education, The Arts, Italian / Multicultural Studies and STEM.

Student welfare is a high priority. Relationships between staff and students are very positive. Through its emphasis on developing strong home-school partnerships the school has been able to meet the learning and wellbeing needs of a diverse range of students.

What is School Wide Positive Behaviour Support?

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) at Tullamarine Primary School is a framework used to create and maintain a positive and safe learning environment. It enhances our school culture and allows us to maximise individual academic and social growth.

What does SWPBS look like at Tullamarine Primary School?

1. A clear set of behaviour expectations are developed around our key school values; RESPECT, RESILIENCE and TEAMWORK, and are defined in our matrix.
2. You can identify the behavioural expectations within 5 minutes of entering the school.
3. Students are able to state the behavioural expectations.
4. Students are recognised for positive behaviours.
5. Positive expectations and behaviours are explicitly taught and encouraged.
6. Data is collected and used for decision making.
7. It is a team-based approach.
8. Families are actively included.

Behaviour Matrix

The Behaviour Matrix translates Tullamarine Primary School’s three key values into expected behaviours. The matrix outlines the behaviour expectations across the whole school, including learning areas, playground areas and transition between the buildings. Our expected behaviours are explicitly taught in every classroom and consistently reinforced throughout the school. Each section of our matrix is displayed and positioned in many locations around the school and are referred to and discussed regularly with all students at Tullamarine Primary School.

Why Do We Explicitly Teach Our Expected Behaviours?

Just as we need to explicitly teach children how to read and write we also need to teach them how to display positive social behaviours.  Not all children come to school knowing, for example, how to follow instructions and how to work well with others. Teaching, modelling and reinforcing the expectations is an important step in a student’s educational experience.  We believe that consistent, clear routines and procedures are critical in providing a safe and productive learning environment.

When Do We Teach Our Expected Behaviours?

• At the beginning of school year.
• Often enough to achieve and maintain fluency.
• Ongoing throughout the year. (refresher lessons)
• At teachable moments.

How Do We Teach Social Behaviours?

Tell – Introduce the expected behaviours and discuss why they are important
Show – Demonstrate and model
Practise – Role play expected behaviours in the relevant contexts
Monitor – Pre correct, use active supervision and provide positive feedback
Reteach – Remind and practise throughout the day

Where Do We Teach Our Expected Behaviours?

• In all learning areas throughout the school.
• In all outside areas around the school.
• It is embedded in all school activities.

Acknowledging and recognising expected behaviours

When students demonstrate school wide expected behaviours, all staff acknowledge their success with positive reinforcement. The main component of our acknowledgement system is our `Tulla Tickets’

How It Works:

• When positive, expected behaviours are noticed by staff, students are awarded a `Tulla’ Ticket.
• Students can accumulate their ‘Tulla’ Tickets to ‘spend’ at the ‘Tulla’ Shop.
• The ‘Tulla’ Shop is open on a fortnightly basis and ‘prices’ range from 5 tickets up to 50 tickets.