Billanook College

Our ELP and Primary students joined an estimated 2 million people this week to participate in National Simultaneous Storytime and listen to a reading of Luna Roo, written by Adam Jackson and Adrian Lloyd, illustrated by Jake Minton.

The story follows the spirited kangaroo Luna and her friends as they chase their football dreams across the outback, blending action, teamwork and fun!

Students were invited to wear their team colours and put their observation skills to the test by answering questions about the book, about football in general, as well as dancing to some recent (and not so recent!) World Cup anthems.

Our Year 7 students have recently completed a study of Ancient China, as part of their work in History.

Their assessment task was a challenge to create an artefact to be displayed in an exhibition. The students’ work includes models of the Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, clothing, games, dragons and much more!

A panel of judges had the difficult task of selecting winners from each Year 7 Homegroup. Congratulations to:

7A: Angus and Emily
Honourable mentions: Xavier, Maltilda, Izzy and Mason

7B: Lily
Honourable mentions: Evie, Zak, Ned and Phillip

7C: Crosby
Honourable mentions: Mary, Maeve, Lilah and Zara

7D: Leo
Honourable mentions: Zoe, Lola, Lily and Adele

7E: Indigo
Honourable mentions: Aisha, Cameron, India, Imogen and Hugh

Our Secondary students took to the track and field on Tuesday at the EISM Division 2 Athletics Carnival.

Congratulations to all students who competed, representing our College with both talent and character. We are incredibly proud of the effort, determination and positive attitude shown throughout the day.

Well done to the following students who placed in the top three in their events:

1st Place:
Saisha B – Girls 14 High Jump
Koby C – Boys 16 Discus Throw
James C – Boys 17-19 1500m
Annabelle G – Girls 16 100m C
Tess G – Girls 16 100m B and Girls 16 200m
Mitchell P – Boys 17-19 800m
Maia R – Girls 16 400m and Girls 16 Discus Throw
Stella S – Girls 16 High Jump, Girls 16 100m, Girls 16 200m B and Girls 16 800m
Lily T – Girls 12-13 Discus Throw
Billanook Team – Girls 16 4x100m Relay

2nd Place:
Sam C – Boys 16 400m and Boys 16 100m
James C – Boys 17-19 800m
Zoe E – Girls 12-13 Shot Put
Leo H – Boys 14 200mB
Adele M – Girls 12-13 Long Jump and Girls 12-13 Triple Jump
Hazel M – Girls 17-19 100m Hurdles
Emmerson M – Girls 14-15 90m Hurdles
Harry O – Boys 14 100m C

3rd Place:
Saisha B – Girls 14 400m and Girls 14 100m
Sam C – Boys 16 200m
Koby C – Boys 16 Shot Put
Leah C – Girls 15 Long Jump
Ava D – Girls 12-13 1500m, Girls 12-13 400m and Girls 12-13 High Jump
Jessica E – Girls 14 Discus Throw and Girls 14 200mB
Hugo F – Boys 16 High Jump
Sophia G – Girls 14 100m B
Leo H – Boys 14 200m
Leo H – Boys 14 100m
Grace L – Girls 15 Discus Throw
Jade M – Girls 15 100m B
Mitchell P – Boys 17-19 Shot Put
Evie T – Girls 14 200m
Mary W – Girls 14-15 1500m
Billanook Team – Girls 14 4x100m Relay

Congratulations to our cast and crew who performed their VCE Theatre Studies production, Clue to a sold-out audience. We are delighted to share a glimpse into this very clever show.

It’s a dark and stormy night, and we’ve been invited to a very unusual dinner party.
Each of the guests has an alias, the butler offers a variety of weapons, and the host is, well, dead. So whodunit?

Iconic oddballs known as Scarlet, Plum, White, Green, Peacock, and Mustard race to find the murderer in Boddy Manor before the body count stacks up.

Based on the cult classic film and the popular board game, Clue is a madcap comedy that will keep the audience guessing until the final twist.

Our Year 11 Business Management students showcased their entrepreneurial skills last week by running a Mother's Day market stall. Students took charge of sourcing products, calculating costs, and driving promotions to ensure their stall's success.

Congratulations to Sean Layh (Class of 2001), who won the Packing Room Prize when the finalists for the Archibald Prize were announced yesterday.

Sean’s portrait, The tragicall historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke can be viewed with the other finalists in the Art Gallery of New South Wales Touring Exhibition:

https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/whats-on/touring-exhibitions/archibald-prize-2026-tour/

Our community are fortunate to be able to view an example of Sean's much earlier work in a familiar setting – the iconic tree painting that hangs in Middle School, Mastery Centre.

This was a collaborative piece which Sean took part in, as a live painting performance for the 25th Anniversary of the College.

Our congratulations to this year’s finalists, we look forward to the announcement of the Archibald Prize winner on Friday, 8 May.

🎉 Just announced: the 2026 Packing Room Prize has been awarded to Sean Layh for his portrait of Australian actor and musician Jacob Collins, ‘The tragicall historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke’.

Now in its 35th year, the Packing Room Prize is awarded to the best entry in the as judged by the Art Gallery staff who receive, unpack and hang the entries. A big thank you to our Packing Room team for this year’s selection.

This is ’s first time as an Archibald Prize finalist.

Layh, a self-taught figurative painter, was inspired to paint Collins after seeing him perform the title role in Iain Sinclair’s 2024 production of ‘Hamlet’ at Melbourne’s fortyfivedownstairs theatre.

On receiving the news, Layh said he was delighted to be selected as a finalist for the Archibald Prize and even more so to be the recipient of the Packing Room Prize.

‘It is immensely satisfying for me to have this work recognised. While Jacob and I are modern artists, we are both continuing artistic traditions that have a strong history in our culture – theatre and painting respectively,’ said Layh.

Congratulations to Sean Layh, and to all of our finalists in the 2026 Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes. The finalists are unveiled on our website today, and the winners will be announced at noon on Friday 8 May.

💗 The ‘Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2026’ exhibition opens Saturday 9 May, and tickets are on sale now through the link in our bio.

Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2026 is proudly presented by and supported by major partner Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.

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Winner Packing Room Prize 2026, Sean Layh ‘The tragicall historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke’, oil on board, 114.1 x 150.2 cm © the artist

Our Primary students competed for House points yesterday at the Primary Athletics Carnival.

It was a closely contested day and we are especially proud of the encouragement they showed each other, their excellent sportsmanship, and their sense of fun!

Weeks were awarded the House Spirit Shield for their support and sportsmanship.

Walling won the Carnival, followed by Hovell, Wurundjeri, and Weeks.

Well done to everyone!

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

At our ANZAC Day Assembly yesterday we welcomed Lieutenant Daniel Williams to speak to our community.

During the moments of respectful silence, only the tranquil sounds of nature could be heard as we gathered on the banks of Brushy Creek – a reminder of our blessings as we remembered those who gave their lives for our collective future.

Lest we forget.

Yesterday our Prep students joined Year 10 and 11 students in their VCE Biology lesson.

Prep students are exploring ‘Flowers of Country’ in their Discovery learning and during the session, worked in small groups alongside Senior School students, who guided them through a range of hands-on activities. This included examining and carefully dissecting flower specimens using scientific equipment and microscopes.

There was much excitement from all students as they enjoyed learning and talking together. Prep students immensely enjoyed using the microscopes and looking at the different parts of the flower close up – the images surprised many of the students! We asked them, "What did you learn at the science laboratory"?

Aldous – I liked the eggs of the flower when I looked at them in the microscope. They looked like little clear balls.

Jude – I liked the leaf. When I looked at it under the microscope it had shiny bits.

Demi – I liked the petals; there was like white and green on them at the end.

Luka – The pollen under the microscope it looked like orange dust.

Hayden – I liked the leaves because they are green, and they had little lines all over them.

Nevaeh – I saw eggs with the microscope.

Arnold – We had to cut open the green part of the flower and then we saw the eggs.

Sienna – I liked the leaf I got to stick on the piece of paper (diagram).

Beau – I saw the eggs! They actually looked like dust.

Isla – I saw lots of pollen, it was all dusty so we had to wash our hands.

In the first week of the school holidays Cate , Ruby and Emily represented Billanook College at the 2026 Round Square Conference held at Ballarat Grammar.

During this week they met students from around Australia and the World to discuss the concept of Democracy. They did this by engaging in a model UN convention, discussing the catalyst for the Eureka Stockade and a trip to Sovereign Hill and a Political Art tour in the CBD.