“Congratulations to Jimmy Schiffler for his recent telephone
appearance on Mad Money”

   INVESTMENT CLUB 2006-2007   

STUDENT TEAM FROM STEPHEN DECATUR HIGH SCHOOL WINS STOCK MARKET GAME™ COMPETITION

Game teaches students the basics of investing in an ever-changing world

Berlin, MD -- A combination of shrewd investing and a little bit of luck helped students from Stephen Decatur High School earn top honors in the Fall, 2006 session of the Stock Market Game™ competition, organized by the Maryland Council on Economic Education (MCEE).  The students' teacher, Kurt Marx, taught the students the keys to success for investing in the stock market.  The team of Kevin Pruitt, Pat Sullivan, and Sarah Walp finished first on the Eastern Shore, while Keaton Pavier and Jimmy Simons finished second.  In the statewide Morgan Stanley competition John Biafore, Karl Hall, and Elizabeth King took first while Stephen Buchness finished second.

The team members started with an imaginary $100,000 and over a ten week period invested in corporations on the New York, American and NASDAQ markets in an attempt to increase the size of their portfolio.

The Stock Market Game™ requires student teams to formulate daily or weekly decisions about the direction of the markets, make choices about buying or selling corporate stocks, and enter them on the internet.  The excitement builds during the competition when students receive their team's portfolio statement, which shows how their team ranks compared to all of the other teams in the Maryland/DC region and their school system, as well as the current value of their stocks.  Prizes range from a plaque for first place to a certificate for participation.  Everyone who participates may not walk away with a trophy, but will leave the competition with practical knowledge for the future.

The Maryland Council on Economic Education offers the Stock Market Game™ to students and teachers throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C. each spring and fall.  The Stock Market GameTM is an educational simulation that teaches about the stock markets, the American economic system and the global economy. Participants develop skills in math, language arts, research and critical thinking, while building and maintaining a stock portfolio. It is used in grades 4-12, college courses, and by those who seek to learn more about investing. Since 1977, over 8 million students have participated in this national program.  In the 2005 school year, more than 14,000 students from Maryland and Washington, D.C. participated in the program through the Maryland Council on Economic Education.

The Maryland Council on Economic Education (MCEE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has been training teachers and providing Maryland school systems with curriculum support for over 50 years.  The MCEE, along with its division the Maryland Coalition for Financial Literacy (MCFL), are working hard to ensure that Maryland’s children leave school prepared to make thoughtful and responsible economic and personal finance decisions.  More information about the MCEE and MCFL can be found at: http://www.econed.org/ and http://www.mdfinancialskills.org/.