Teams of three students learned how social studies, business, economics, language arts, technology, and math all work to shape the global economy. On April 17 the year-long project concluded and OLA was delighted to have one of its teams, “The Wonderwomen,” take first place for the Middle School Division, besting over 300 teams in the Southern California area.
Having had no prior experience with the stock market, students were taught the basics of investment by their math teacher, Pieter Nystrom. They learned about companies, stocks, risk, diversification, causes of market change, timing for buying, selling, and holding investments, and how to plan for long-term growth.
“It was cool to see how current events affected the price of stocks, especially at Christmas time,” said eighth grader Isabelle LaBrie, a member of the team “SIA Crew.”
Her teammate, Sabreena Andrade, noted that, “Of all our projects this year, the Stock Market Game feels like it will help us the most in the future.”
Sixth grader Johnny Banuelos of team “FC Madrid” said he enjoyed the research component of the project. His teammate, Robert Parker, appreciated learning good strategies for saving in the future, he said.
“I would like to be involved in the stock market when I’m older, said Jocelyn Sanz, one of OLA’s Wonderwomen. “I don’t normally like math, but the Stock Market Game made it interesting.”
What was the secret to The Wonderwomen’s success? Watching the news one September evening, they noticed the urgent need for pharmaceuticals in dealing with the Ebola virus. After conducting some research online, they invested heavily in the NewLink Genetics Corporation. The stock quickly grew and the team held on to first place for most of the school year.
The Wonderwomen will travel to Los Angeles next month for an awards ceremony where they will be commended for their efforts by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the foundation which runs The Stock Market Game and generously allowed OLA to participate free of charge.