the grocery stores by decorating a bale of C-Mart shopping bags with their own anti-drug messages.

Students from grades four to seven designed art work and slogans on practice paper before moving onto the bags, which began public distribution last week.

The idea for the slogan-covered bags came from C-Mart general manager Andrew Correia.

"It's a way of getting a strong message out there,'' he said.

"Most people don't throw the bags away. They keep them and use them over and over again.

"Sending out an anti-drug message is a repetitive thing. You need to keep seeing it over and over again.'' MSA Elementary School principal Sister Dolores Sullivan arranged a contest for the students.

A group of teachers who did not know the children was put together and five winners were chosen.

"It was a very nice thing for Mr. Correia to do to involve the children,'' said Sister Sullivan.

"It was a very difficult thing to have to choose the winners.'' A student was selected from each grade as a winner, but in one case the judges could not decide on one winner and gave two students a prize.

The grade four winner was nine-year-old Christopher Abraham. Grade five had Matthew Madeiros and Ryan Terceira, both ten, as its winners.

Eleven-year-old Kristin Loving got the prize for grade six and Elise Rodriguz, 12, won for grade seven.

The winners were recognised during the school's weekly assembly when they were presented with a certificate and candy bar.

Anti-drug bags: (front row from left to right) Christopher Abraham, nine, Ryan Terceira, Matthew Madeiros, both ten, Kristin Loving, 11, and Elise Rodriguz, 13, were winners of the Mount Saint Agnes Elementary School's bag design contest. C-Mart general managers Andrew and Wayne Correia began distributing the bags with their anti-drug messages yesterday.