Eagle Ridge sixth-graders sweep Stock Market Game

Teams of students from Steve Kraft’s sixth grade social studies classes at Eagle Ridge Middle School recently claimed the top 5 spots among Minnesota teams in the fall session of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Stock Market Game.

The students were honored at an awards ceremony at RBC Wealth Management in Minneapolis on Dec. 14.

The Stock Market Game is an online simulation of the global capital markets that engages students grades 4-12 in the world of economics, investing and personal finance, and prepares them for financially independent futures. More than 600,000 students take part every school year across all 50 states. Over 1,300 teams participated in Minnesota this fall and Eagle Ridge’s sixth graders achieved a sweep of the top five spots in the Elementary Division for teams in grades 4-6. 

Kraft has been teaching in District 191 for 32 years and he’s had students participate in the Stock Market Game since 1993, back when the results were published in the newspaper and weekly reports were sent to the advisors by mail. He continues to sign up for the game because of the lessons he’s seen the students take away from it year after year. 

“Students learn many life lessons about investing and working together as a team,” Kraft said. “Sometimes time has the biggest influence on a successful stock purchase. Additionally, the Stock Market Game underscores the global economy we live in today.”

In the Stock Market Game, each team of students works together to create and manage a virtual investment portfolio of real world stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Each team is responsible for researching and evaluating potential investments, and ultimately deciding what to do with their $100,000 in virtual cash. The team of Navaeh Warren, Ki’ Sean Gynild-Bradley, Max Simmons, Camila Gomez and Jonathan Ly won the competition by turning a $16,000 profit in two months. Ly said he was surprised to win and offered a simple secret to his team’s success.

“Buy low,” he said.

Bersabeh Chakiso’s team placed fourth, making around $7,000. She said her team’s keys to success were having a diverse portfolio and avoiding risky stocks. A couple of her team’s top performing stocks were American Eagle and Carvana. 

“We thought about things like what stocks would do well during the winter and what the market caps were,” she said. “It made me interested in how you buy stocks in real life.”

Teammate Lela People said it was really helpful that before the game started the class spent the first month of the school year learning about the stock market.

“Mr. Kraft taught us about how it’s important to make your money work for you. I think we did so well because we learned about it first,” she said.

 

First place

Navaeh Warren

Ki' Sean Gynild-Bradley

Max Simmons 

Camila Gomez

Jonathan Ly

 

Second place

Nathan Aguilar

Darlene Uwrzua Garcia

Shirwa Sheikabdi

Alexandra Soto Bonilla

Zoey Shaw

Xavier Clark

 

Third place

Rachel Calvillo Arpista

Hussin Pablico

 

Fourth place

Olianna Dauphinais

Lela People

Bersabeh Chakiso

 

Fifth place

Remegio Pacheco

Sebastian Penwarden

Cameron Brown

Jacob Spearman