MARC Contests

Click here to download this page as a PDF. Click here to download Parental Release for PSA Contest.

Questions? Read the below information first, then email marc@bridgew.edu

2009-10 MARC Poetry/Poster Contest (Grades 3-5)

Instructions (DUE DATE February 5th, 2010)

Each entry should be submitted in response to ONE of the questions from the student’s grade level. Third graders should respond to a third grade question, fourth graders to a fourth grade question, etc.

Each response to the question may take the form of a POSTER or a POEM.

POEMS may be authored by one to two children.

o They should not exceed two pages long (handwritten).

POSTERS may be submitted in two sizes:

o SMALL posters do not exceed 11”x17” and may be submitted by one to three children.

o LARGE posters exceed 11”x17” and may be submitted by up to ten children.

o ALL POSTERS must be accompanied by identifying information (below) and a descriptive paragraph.

Each entry MUST HAVE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WRITTEN ON IT:

1. The child’s or children’s FULL name(s)

2. The teacher’s name

3. School name and town

Entries should be mailed to: (*Poems may be faxed to 508-531-4355)

Grades 3-5 Essay Contest

Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center

Maxwell Library 201

Bridgewater State College

Bridgewater, MA 02325

Questions for 3^rd graders (students have the choice of submitting either a poster or a poem in response to the question of their choice)

1. Where do you see bullying happen?

2. Why does it happen there?

Question for 4^th graders (students have the choice of submitting either a poster or a poem in response to the question of their choice)

1. Why do people bully?

2. Why do others let this behavior continue?

Questions for 5^th graders (students have the choice of submitting either a poster or a poem in response to the question of their choice)

1. What do you think cyber bullying is?

2. What are your ideas to help minimize the problem?

AWARD CEREMONY: Monday, April 26^th, 2010

2009-10 MARC Public Service Announcement (PSA) Contest (Grades 6-12)

Instructions (Due Date: February 12th, 2010)

A Public Service Announcement (“PSA”) is, in essence, a video commercial designed to raise awareness or change attitudes, rather than to sell a product. Examples of previous Public Service Announcements are those that promote buckling your seat belt in a car (the “Click It or Ticket” television campaign) or those designed to discourage drug use in teens (the “This Is Your Brain On Drugs” campaign).

The Contest Guidelines are below. Students in schools should form groups of 2 to 12 students, and those groups should together produce a Public Service Announcement video. That production must be designed to raise awareness and improve other teenagers’ attitudes around the issues of aggression and bullying in school.

Within the guidelines below, content may be anything that students consider would be effective in raising awareness about bullying and aggression among teens. Student production groups might consider, as suggestions, the following questions: What is bullying and why does it happen? What can be done about cyberbullying? Who can you turn to when you are bullied? How does cyberbullying affect kids?

We hope to offer the winning team a limousine to escort them to the Awards Ceremony. Winning schools, supervising adults, and others are welcome and the students’ families will also be invited.

Contest Guidelines

The video must be produced, written, and acted in by students.
The student group producing the video must be under the supervision of a teacher, coordinator, guidance counselor, theater teacher, or other adult in the student group’s school. The supervisor may be a volunteer adult (e.g., a parent from the community) if the school authorizes the project.
The PSA may be submitted on CD or DVD, or may be made available on a school-run website where we can view it online for judging purposes.
Entries on outdated formats (e.g., Hi8 mini-tapes, VHS) may not be able to be judged, subject to the availability of appropriate technology. Please do not use these formats if possible.
The PSA must run between approximately 30 and 45 seconds.
Content must be appropriate for all audiences. Submissions will be disqualified if they contain:
1. Obscenities of any type;
2. Inappropriate or offensive language of any type, including racial, ethnic, or group slurs;
3. Nudity;
4. Sexual innuendo, sexual content, sexually suggestive filming techniques; or
5. Any other content which the judges decide is inappropriate for a school contest.
Parental releases (found below) must be obtained for every student under age 18 who is immediately involved in the production. People that do not play a vital role do not need them. (For example, students who help run a school television studio but only assist in this particular production tangentially would not be part of the winning team and therefore do not need releases; but anyone who speaks on camera or anyone who is actively involved in the production must have a parental release.) The parental release is necessary because the winners’ names will be released to the press and their PSA may be aired on cable or network television.
Productions must be turned into MARC by February 13th, 2009. Submissions should be sent to: PSA Contest, Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center, Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA 02325.
This contest is open to any 6th thru 12th grader in the state of Massachusetts.

Download the Parental Release Form

AWARD CEREMONY: Friday, April 30th, 2010