Challenge accepted! HGMICS students earn top honors in annual Stock Market Challenge

Imagine gaining practical financial management experience before you even enter high school.

Students at HGMICS don’t have to imagine. They recently participated in the Lackawanna County Middle School Stock Market Challenge, a 10-week financial competition, and they earned top honors. The annual contest is hosted by the Pennsylvania Council on Financial Literacy through Brighter Financial Futures, and sponsored by Fidelity Bank.

Aiden Hapshe, grade 6, won first place in the county, and third place in the state. Raeleigh Reiss, grade 6, earned second place in the Lackawanna County Budget Game.

During the competition, students utilized an online stock simulation platform featuring a Personal Budgeting Game, Online Learning with certifications in Personal Finance and Investing 101, and the Stock Market Challenge. “This game is a real-time simulation and an authentic experience, which creates a lot of interest and discussion among students,” said Barbara Ainey, Upper Literacy/Upper I Homeroom teacher. “The game platform has a multitude of financial literacy resources that we used to learn the basics of investing.”

Mrs. Ainey reviewed the research tools available to them, but she did not offer stock tips. It was up to the students to make wise financial decisions along the way. “Student interest and motivation were the ultimate keys to success,” she said. “Aiden made an investment he felt confident in and he stuck with it!”

At first, Aiden invested in what he liked. Then, he employed a different strategy, investing in the cheapest gas company he could find and selling when the time was right. “Near the end, stocks started going down, so I sold while everyone else lost money,” he said. “I learned to keep an eye on the market every once and a while.”

This strategy certainly paid off. Aiden began the challenge with $100,000, and ended the game with more than $176,015.34. In honor of his accomplishment, he received a new Chromebook and $130 in Amazon gift cards.

From investing to budgeting, this year’s competition had something for every young financial guru. “The Budget Game created a lot of buzz in classrooms this year as well,” Mrs. Ainey said. Students managed an 18-month simulated household budget. As a result, they witnessed first-hand how their financial choices impacted their overall quality of life. “It was a valuable experience to get students acquainted with money management and ultimately give them a realistic view of how to build a bright financial future for themselves,” she said.

Budgeting is where Raeleigh really shined. “The most important lesson I learned was to make sure you set some money aside,” she said. “It’s important to learn about budgeting at a young age because it will help you in the future when you need to budget almost every day.”

Her savvy budgeting skills earned her a final score of 31,638. Scores were calculated based on a student’s ability to balance sound financial decisions and quality of life. Raeleigh was awarded an Amazon gift card for $50.

To learn more about financial literacy for students, visit the Pennsylvania Council on Financial Literacy.