Teams of three learned how social studies, business, economics, language arts, technology, and math all work to shape the global economy. On April 15, the year-long project concluded and OLA was delighted to have one of its teams, nicknamed Super Stock Bros., take first place for the Middle School Division, besting over 300 other teams in the southern California area.
This is the school’s second first place finish in their two years of participation.
Having had no prior experience with the stock market, students were taught the basics of investment by their math teacher, Pieter Nystrom (who wishes to be addressed as Mr. Re-Pete from now on). They learned about companies, stocks, risk, diversification, causes for market change, timing for buying, selling, and holding investments, and how to plan for long-term growth.
Eighth grader Garrett Ostrinksi of Team Scribblerz said, “We invested in Chipotle the day before the outbreak. It was very tragic and our portfolio never recovered.”
Matthew Gaeta of Team Tortugas summarized that, “the more you learn, the more you earn.”
James McConnell of Team Buckwild, said, “Anyone who thinks there’s safety in numbers hasn’t looked at the stock market pages.”
And Katie Meador of Team Magic Carpets said, “I didn’t know anything about the Stock Market before, but I feel like Mr. Nystrom has given us ten years of knowledge through this experience!”
What was the secret to Super Stock Bros. success? Watching the news one evening, they noticed the urgent need for pharmaceuticals in dealing with the Zika Virus. After conducting extensive research online, they made a decision and invested heavily in the sector. Their portfolio quickly grew, but the battle for first lasted until the very last day of trading as the top three teams swapped positions daily.
Super Stock Bros. 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.