Student Stories, Achievements & Community News

Stories To Share

A group of our Year 7 students competed in the inaugural ACC Spelling Bee this week, to celebrate academic talent and literacy.

Students Fraser B, Franz M, Charlie A, Alex M, Baha Y and Ben S worked in the Team Challenge and in the Individual Championships against 9 other Catholic Colleges. While we didn't come away with a win, our boys enjoyed the experience.

"The opportunity to do this spelling bee was something I will never forget and hope to do in the future. I have always been a good speller but now I can show my academics and try in a competition with other talented spellers. We spent a week of practice so we could be prepared for the day, and no matter the result, I had a fun time participating in it." Ben S

“It was a great day, I loved the quizzes that we all did before the competition with the other 9 schools. We got 5th on the word quiz, in which we had to unjumble words and create the biggest word we could. Now the competition was incredible, there was a judge and pronouncer and everything. I was astounded at the amount of effort that was put into the competition. I also made friends with the other schools which was good.” Alex M

Celebrating Student Achievement

Congratulations to our speakers at the Brother Quentin O'Halloran Public Speaking Event who delivered an entertaining evening of speeches that brought perspective, passion, humour and grace to our engaged audience.

Year 7 - Ben S, Kristian S (Award Winner) & Jensen W

Year 8 - Oscar D, William H, Ethan S (Award Winner) & Samuel S

Year 9 - George B (Award Winner), Oliver F & Dan P

Year 10 - Vinne M (Overall Winner) Zane K & Joshua M

Year 11 - Luke K, Oran J (Award Winner), Nick S (Award Winner) & Daniel A

Year 12 - Tomas P, George S & Maurice K

Hosts - Alex T, Thomas R, Will A (Year 11)

Congratulations to our participants in the 2025 Australian History Competition, with 6 of our students achieving a High Distinction, 15 with Distinctions and 28 with Credits. And in very exciting news, Joe W also was named State Champion for Year 10!

"My enjoyment for History comes from a love and passion for studying the past. The ability to learn from the successes and failings of the past generations to best learn and ready ourselves for the future, appeals to me, with there being thousands of brilliant minds to learn from, and to be able to see that we ourselves are not alone in our struggles.

For the Competition, I took my love and passion for studying all aspects of History and used it to my advantage. I was aware that it would challenge me, and that it would push my knowledge to its limits, but in saying this I was eager for the competition. I placed no expectation upon my result, knowing that I would try my absolute best, and very pleasantly I stacked up against my peers also competing in the competition." Joe W

High Distinctions

Year 7 - Samuel B, Karl V

Year 9 - George B, Jackson S, Sebastian T

Year 10 - Joe W (State Champion)

Congratulations to our students who participated in the 2025 Science Fair, with Lucas A (Year 8) named first place winner at our 2025 Science Fair with his project on Grip Strength. Sebastian P (Year 9) took 2nd place, and Neil S and Kiaan S in 3rd.

Congratulations to our Year 9 and 10 students took part in the ACC Pitch Competition at Mazenod, going head-to-head with four other schools to showcase their innovative social and business ideas, impressing with the judges with their pitches and confident Q&A skills.

Our Year 10 team, Xander C, Archer O'C and Joe W were voted overall audience favourite! Commendations to our Year 9 team, Tom B, Miles L, Ryan J, and Dane Q, for their outstanding participation.

Congratulations to Isaac P (Year 12), who was awarded the prestigious Canberra Scholarship by the Victorian Indonesian Language Teachers Association (VILTA).

Isaac spent three days in Canberra with other scholarship recipients to celebrate Indonesia’s 80th Independence Day alongside representatives from the Indonesian Embassy.

During the visit, Isaac had the privilege of meeting the Indonesian Ambassador and his family, as well as Embassy staff. He attended the official Indonesian Flag Ceremony, visited the National Museum, Parliament House and the Australian War Memorial, participated in a range of cultural activities and enjoyed authentic Indonesian meals and hospitality. Isaac has enjoyed new friendships and a deeper connection to Indonesia’s language and culture.

"Our hosts from the Indonesian Embassy were amazing, and it was wonderful to have the chance to spend time getting to know the Ambassador and his lovely family over delicious meals and good conversations. The weekend included taking part in a flag-raising ceremony, meeting diplomats, and enjoying delicious Indonesian cuisine. Tours of the War Memorial, National Museum and Parliament House were also included. This was a rich experience for all the participants, and one which served to strengthen our relationship with Indonesia on many levels."

“I’m truly thankful for the chance to spend time with the Indonesian Ambassador, the Vice Ambassador, and their families during my stay. The scholarship allowed me to strengthen my Indonesian language skills while also experiencing the culture firsthand with other students and teachers from Victoria. We were warmly welcomed, including by the Ambassador and Vice Ambassador’s sons, who generously shared their stories and perspectives. Perjalanan ini membuat saya semakin menyadari pentingnya hubungan antara Australia dan Indonesia, serta betapa dalam, ramah, dan terbukanya budaya masyarakat Indonesia dari berbagai lapisan”.

Thank you to Astrid Dux for her support of Isaac and this opportunity.

House Cross Country saw 1000 students take up the challenge to run 3km along Mentone Beach to McBean's Ramp and back - the course we've been running for more than 60 years. Well done to all participants across Years 7 to 12, and especially to our top 3 year level runners.

Year 7 - Thomas B (1), Thomas Z (2) & Isaac N (3)

Year 8 - Hugo M (1), Hudson M (2) & Christian B (3)

Year 9 - Eoian J (1), Jonas M (2) & Will C (3)

Year 10 - Charles M (1), Samuel G (2) & Cash C (3)

Year 11 - Michael M (1), Oran J (2) & Oscar R (3)

Year 12 - Archer G (1), Campbell G (2) & Luke W (3)

Benilde was crowned champions of the event. Thanks to Coach Gavin Brown and all staff who support our students for this event.

Congratulations to Matthew R, Hugo M (Year 8) and Eoin J (Year 9) who competed in the Australian Cross Country Championships in Ballarat over the weekend. They raced well on a very tough and muddy course!

Matthew placed 9th in the 3km para U15 race

Eoin placed 10th in the 4km U16 race

Hugo placed 39th in the 4km U15 race