More than 70 Dartmouth elementary school students participated in this year's Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) Bullying Awareness Contest, with several teams placing first or second or receiving an honorable mention.

MARC asks third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students to create a poem, poster, or essay based on an anti-bullying theme. Students from the James M. Quinn Elementary School and the George H. Potter Elementary School participated. The winners were honored at Bridgewater State University on April 28.

Quinn Elementary fifth-graders Alexandra Cojocaru, Kendal Adams, Courtney Cabral, Giada Cabral, and Piper Harrison received a second-place win for their poster, which responded to the question: "How do you set a good example for the younger kids at your school who look up to you?"

“It was fun making it [the poster],” said Giada Cabral. “We’re very proud.”

The girls created their own poem, as well as drew and decorated a poster.

“We had a lot of kindness quotes,” said Adams.

Courtney Cabral mentioned that it felt good to see the poster with all the other competitors at BSU.

Winning second place in the third-grade category were Kyla Martin, Antonia Ferreira, Ella Whelan, and Sydney Leary. Winning an Honorable Mention in the fourth-grade category were Olivia Bloom-Glover and Tessa Renzo. Winning first-place in the fifth grade category were Julia Farias, Sophia Gioiosa, Emma Gomes and Ava Pacheco.

According to Assistant Principal Audra Thomas, Quinn has been participating in the MARC contests for 10 years.

“We pride ourselves at Quinn and in the Dartmouth school district for educating our students on how to be kind, include others, prevent bullying, and empower our students to create a positive school climate," said Thomas, "and the MARC contest is just one snapshot of how we do this."

The students at Quinn were given an opportunity to work on their submission during recess time.

“By having this contest [MARC], it shows the students that they have a role in preventing bullying,” said Quinn Outreach Worker Erin Gomes. “This helped the kids put their own ideas into how to be proponents to end bullying.”

Also honored at the event were Potter Elementary fifth-graders Connor Boik, Ryan Duggan, Madyn Waskiewicz, and Lexi-Bella Nicolosi.

More than 1,000 students throughout the state participated in the contest.