The Easter Bunny stands with one of the winning contestants. (Courtesy Lowell Police Department)

LOWELL — Superintendent Greg Hudon is pleased to report that the Lowell Police Department, in collaboration with the Officer Sean A. Collier Memorial Fund, sponsored a coloring contest for some Lowell Public School first graders.

First-graders from classrooms at the Moody, Greenhalge and Shaughnessy Elementary Schools, as well as the STEM Academy, colored pictures of the character Officer Judy Hopps from the movie “Zootopia.”

A Lowell Police officer served as the judge of the colored pages while dressed as the Easter Bunny on Wednesday morning.

Superintendent Greg Hudon, Deputy Superintendent Frank Nobrega, Sgt. Mike Marshall and School Resource Officer Mindy Dower went from classroom to classroom on Wednesday morning as the Easter Bunny made an appearance and looked at all the colored pages.

Thanks to support from the Officer Sean A. Collier Memorial Fund, a winning student in each classroom received an Easter basket full of toys and candy.

Every student in each classroom that participated received a smaller bag of treats and candies — with no nuts or chocolate included.

“Thank you for protecting us,” a child at the Moody School said to police.

The Easter Bunny stands with the winning contestant. (Courtesy Lowell Police Department)

In addition to giving out gift bags, police also provided teachers at each of the schools with 20 Market Basket gift cards for $50 each to provide to children most in need thanks to the generosity of Cheryl Kimball of the Collier Fund.

“Seeing the faces of the first-grade students as the Easter Bunny appeared in their classrooms was the highlight of my day,” said Superintendent Hudon. “This contest was a lot of fun and a great opportunity for kids to realize that police can be fun, too. We had a lot of talented students do a great job on their coloring.