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There is nothing wrong with your sentence. It contains a participle phrase which can be fronted:

Hiding her things and dumping her backpack in a muddy puddle just outside school, the boys had been bullying her.

As to the dash, I would not use it and would opt for a colon (:). The colon signals that the following clause further explains the preceding clause. (The Art of Styling Sentences, Ann Longknife.)

"The boys had been bullying her again  : They hid her things and dumped her backpack into a muddy puddle just outside school grounds."

I prefer the version with the colon.

There is nothing wrong with your sentence. It contains a participle phrase which can be fronted:

Hiding her things and dumping her backpack in a muddy puddle just outside school, the boys had been bullying her.

As to the dash, I would not use it and would opt for a colon (:). The colon signals that the following clause further explains the preceding clause. (The Art of Styling Sentences, Ann Longknife.)

"The boys had been bullying her again: They hid her things and dumped her backpack into a muddy puddle just outside school grounds."

I prefer the version with the colon.

There is nothing wrong with your sentence. It contains a participle phrase which can be fronted:

Hiding her things and dumping her backpack in a muddy puddle just outside school, the boys had been bullying her.

As to the dash, I would not use it and would opt for a colon (:). The colon signals that the following clause further explains the preceding clause. (The Art of Styling Sentences, Ann Longknife.)

"The boys had been bulling her again : They hid her things and dumped her backpack into a muddy puddle just outside school grounds."

I prefer the version with the colon.

There is nothing wrong with your sentence. It contains a participle phrase which can be fronted:

Hiding her things and dumping her backpack in a muddy puddle just outside school, the boys had been bullying her.

As to the dash, I would not use it and would opt for a colon (:). The colon signals that the following clause further explains the preceding clause. (The Art of Styling Sentences, Ann Longknife.)

"The boys had been bullying her again : They hid her things and dumped her backpack into a muddy puddle just outside school grounds."

I prefer the version with the colon.

There is nothing wrong with your sentence. It contains a participle phrase which can be fronted:

Hiding her things and dumping her backback in a muddy puddle just outside school, the boys had been bullying her.

As to the dash, I would not use it and would opt for a colon (:). The colon signals that the following clause further explains the preceding clause. (The Art of Styling Sentences, Ann Longknife.)

I prefer the version with the colon.

There is nothing wrong with your sentence. It contains a participle phrase which can be fronted:

Hiding her things and dumping her backpack in a muddy puddle just outside school, the boys had been bullying her.

As to the dash, I would not use it and would opt for a colon (:). The colon signals that the following clause further explains the preceding clause. (The Art of Styling Sentences, Ann Longknife.)

"The boys had been bulling her again : They hid her things and dumped her backpack into a muddy puddle just outside school grounds."

I prefer the version with the colon.