Arlington, Kimball, Norris students win state InvestWrite competition

Students from Arlington, Kimball and Norris were the winners in the fall 2010 competition of InvestWrite, an innovative national and state writing competition that adds a critical thinking component to help reinforce concepts students learned in the classroom while participating in the Stock Market Game.

The winners were:

* Elementary School Division (Grades 4-5) -- Alexandra Reader, Kimball Public Schools (Laurie Janicek, teacher)

* Middle School Division (Grades 6-8) -- Katie Caskey, Arlington Middle School (Shawna Koger, teacher).

* High School Division (Grades 9-12) -- Alec Miller, Norris High School (Sid Conrad, teacher).

Participants wrote essays explaining why their Stock Market Game team chose to purchase a selected stock, bond or mutual fund; discussed risk, diversification and compound interest; and discussed the importance of savings. Teachers select the top five essays from each of their participating classes. More than 2,300 essays were submitted nationwide. Each essay is judged three times.

The competition is administered by the Nebraska Council on Economic Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business Administration. Representatives of the council will coordinate a surprise visit to each winning students' classroom where they will be recognized in front of their peers for their outstanding accomplishment. Each winner will receive a 4-gigabyte MP3 digital video player, a certificate and celebratory cookies to share with all in attendance.

The Stock Market Game is an academic program that will provide life-long, necessary skills to Nebraska students. In a 10-week academic competition for students in Grades 4-12, teams manage a $100,000 portfolio, buy and sell stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, do research -- and often don't realize how much they are learning. Research shows the game increases student test scores.

For additional information on the Stock Market Game, the InvestWrite Competition or the Nebraska Council on Economic Education, visit www.nebraskacouncil.org.

WRITER: Jennifer Davidson