MEDINA - A group of fourth- and fifth-grade students at Garfield Elementary got the chance to write two original songs, record them for a CD and perform them for their classmates at a school assembly.

"Billy's face turned red while he held his head," they sang. "No one wants to be friends with a bully, so find your own space."

The students received help from music teacher Nick Dominguez, who composed the music, and were accompanied by a drummer and guitarist. They met after school once a week for about two months to compose the lyrics and practice their songs.

"They have so many good ideas adults would never come up with," he said. "They learned how much work it is to write and record a song."

This program, in its second year, was sponsored by arts organization ORMACO and funded from a grant by the Stephenson Foundation. The program is targeted to at-risk students and provides direction while engaging their creativity, promoting teamwork and learning about the recording process, said Thomas Sigel, ORMACO executive director.

Tom Lempner, a music therapist who helped the students record the CDs, said he was impressed by the students' talents.

"I don't know if they realize all their talents," he said. "It takes guts to stand up in front of a crowd."

The songs performed, "Billy's Bully Ballad," and "Against All Odds," involved the topics of bullying and achievement, which the students said was about "meeting the odds no matter what."

The second song also invoked the five steps for handling big emotions, which was seen on posters throughout the school. They include move away, self talk, take three deep breaths, tell an adult and be kind.

During the performance, they gave an example of a girl being teased by a boy and showed how she should handle it.

Performer D'Andre Gross, a fifth-grader, said he had written some songs before by himself, but this experience helped him learn how to work together and not to be afraid of expressing yourself. When asked about how he achieves his goals, he said, "I just think happy thoughts."