Investing in their future: CCSD students excel in statewide Stock Market Game and InvestWrite competition
Photo Courtesy of the Utah Office of State Treasurer
Congratulations to students at Nibley and Lincoln Elementary Schools for their achievements in the Fall 2020 Stock Market Game and Spring 2020 InvestWrite competition!
A Nibley Elementary School student team placed first in the elementary division of the Fall 2020 Stock Market Game. The Office of State Treasurer and Utah State Treasurer David Damschen hosted a pizza party on Thursday, March 11, celebrating the two sixth-grade students on the winning team, Somnaang Udy and Alexander Droge, and their advisor and teacher, Mr. Michael Torrey. During the celebration, Treasurer Damschen presented the winners with their awards, including my529 account certificates, plaques and Stock Market Game swag.
Mr. Torrey explained to UtahPolicy.com that it is imperative to teach students personal finance concepts and skills. “Financial literacy is as important in today’s world as any other subjects students learn like science, reading, and math,” Torrey elaborated. “The financial lifestyle choices someone makes have a greater impact on the future of one’s life than almost any other decision someone makes. We live in a world that is transitioning from physical money into a world primarily using cryptocurrency Venmo transactions and credit card purchases. Students need to learn successful financial literacy skills so that they can thrive and be successful in today’s world managing one’s finances, stock market portfolios, and retirement accounts.”
According to the Utah Office of State Treasurer press release, the Stock Market Game is a 10-week simulation of Wall Street trading that provides a framework for teaching Utah students about the U.S. economy and financial markets. The game is designed for classroom use to help students understand investing, the costs and benefits involved in economic decision making, the sources and uses of capital, and other related financial concepts in an integrated manner with other curricula. Students invest a hypothetical $100,000 in common stocks and diversified investment funds on the major exchanges during the game. Teams are ranked based on their total equity at the end of the game. The first place elementary team ended the game with $129,792.01 in total equity. The students competed against 54 other teams in their division.
Lincoln Elementary students also recently placed in the statewide InvestWrite writing competition. InvestWrite provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate, using written communication, what they learned while playing the Stock Market Game. Lincoln Elementary students Rosalie Munsters, Clay Bodrero, and Caroline Friedrich placed first, second, and third in the elementary division of the Utah Spring 2020 InvestWrite competition. The three winners were in Rosanne Porter’s fifth-grade class at the time of the competition and received their awards in December 2020.
“The Stock Market Game and InvestWrite competitions pique student interest in important concepts taught in the classroom by adding an element of competition,” Treasurer Damschen said. “I appreciate the outstanding efforts of teachers and students to improve financial knowledge.”
The Office of State Treasurer typically hosts an awards banquet to honor the Stock Market Game winners. To help slow the community spread of COVID-19, the awards banquets for the spring and fall 2020 games were canceled. Instead of these events, the office has worked with teachers to arrange more limited events. In addition to celebrations like the pizza party at Nibley Elementary School, photos of the winning students and teachers statewide will be shared on the office’s social media here.