The stock portfolio of a team of Washington Middle School students not only finished first in their regional division, but placed fifth out of 742 teams in the state during the Missouri Stock Market Game sponsored by the Missouri Council on Economic Education.

Seventh graders Spencer Dorlac, Shawn Hughes, Esmir Karabas, Nino Schmitt and Landon Schwarz were honored with a medal for their portfolio’s success at an awards banquet held on April 19.

The students participated in the Stock Market Game, which is an interactive and interdisciplinary educational program that stimulates learning about economics, finance and the American economic system as part of their STRETCH gifted class. Starting with a virtual cash account of $100,000, the students built a portfolio by researching and evaluating stocks and making decisions based on what they learned.

“I was really surprised when we won first,” Schwarz stated in a school district news release. “We picked our stocks based on stuff that is popular today or what people might need in the future.”

During the 10-week simulation, STRETCH teacher Nancy Schejbal taught the WMS students about the different ways an individual can invest in the stock market and how the stock market can be risky, even when a company has been researched carefully.