The Stock Market Game™

Northfield Student Places Second in 2007 Fall National Essay Competition!

Louise Vivant, a senior at Northfield High Schoolstudent at Northfield High School, placed second in the fall 2007 national InvestWrite student essay competition sponsored locally by BestPrep and nationally by the Foundation for Investor Education (FIE).

The winning essays were chosen through rigorous judging from among 1,422 classrooms nationwide. Judging criteria included student understanding of the subject matter, analysis of the topic, and writing quality. The fall 2007 InvestWrite competition experienced a record 14,928 student participants, an increase of 34% over participation in 2006.

FIE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising the level of investor education across the country, created “InvestWrite” to reinforce students’ critical thinking skills and bridge classroom learning in mathematics, social studies, business and economics, with the practical knowledge required for successful saving and investing. The competition is an innovative extension of the award-winning, curriculum-based Stock Market Game™ (SMG) Program, which for three decades has helped students learn the fundamentals of long-term saving and investing and how the capital markets work.

Louise was one of 30 students nationwide honored for their analysis of various investments, their overall understanding of the stock market and the manner in which they expressed their investment ideas in essay form. Teachers nationwide performed the first round of judging for the 7,101 essays written. Financial professionals volunteer as judges and choose the winners from the essays submitted by the teachers.

Louise and teacher, Karen Koester, both received laptop computers as prizes. Vivant also received an iPod, a trophy, and a class pizza party. Koester also received a $250 gift card and a year subscription to the Wall Street Journal. Vivant's parents were also recognized with a plaque.

Congratulations to Louise Vivant, teacher Karen Koester, and Northfield High School!

Wayzata Student Places Second in National Essay Competition!

Wayzata High School Junior Garrett McConnach placed second in the national InvestWrite essay competition during the fall 2004 Stock Market Game. InvestWrite chose his essay from more than 4,000 entrees. After researching and meeting with a financial advisor from RBC Dain Rauscher, Garrett recommended Regis Corporation as an excellent stock opportunity.

“Garrett felt privileged to participate in the InvestWrite competition. The InvestWrite essay competition motivated Garrett to delve deeper into what makes a good investment opportunity,” said Candy Lee, Wayzata High School Business Education teacher. “It was an exceptional experience.”

Garrett is also involved in Business Professionals of America (BPA) business club at Wayzata High School. He recently placed third in Parliamentary Procedure at the regional level and competed in the state BPA Conference in March.

Garrett received a laptop computer, $500 scholarship, trophy for his school, and class pizza party. Teacher Candy Lee, received a laptop computer and 1-year subscription to the Wall Street Journal.

Wabasha-Kellogg Student Wins National Essay Competition!

Emily Eng, a senior at Wabasha-Kellogg High School in Wabasha, Minn., won first place in the nationwide "InvestWrite" essay contest during the Spring 2004 Stock Market Game. Emily demonstrated her investment knowledge by providing insights on how media coverage has affected Halliburton's stock prices.

Her essay was chosen from among more than 7,000 entrants in the first InvestWrite contest. In her essay, Emily explained that due to the enormous swell in media coverage, prices of stocks have become more volatile, since news - be it internal or external - drives the sales and purchases of stocks. Emily was among three first place winners, each chosen in their respective grade division.

Prizes that Emily received included a trip for 3 to New York City, a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond, a laptop, a pizza party for her class and her teacher Michael Kropp received a trip to the New York Stock Exchange's Teacher Workshop.

Wabasha-Kellogg High School student, Emily Eng received her awards at a school-wide scholarship event. Pictured are Michael Kropp, Teacher at Wabasha Kellogg High School, Catie Tobin, senior vice president, RBC Dain Rauscher, Emily Eng, Student Award Winner, and Bob Kaitz, President & CEO of BestPrep.

Contact Information
Ryan Tews, Stock Market Game Program Manager
763-398-0090 ext. 233
smg@bestprep.org