A team of five MMI Preparatory School eighth grade students placed third in the Foundation for Free Enterprise’s statewide Stock Market Game.
Robert Orbin, Nathaniel Neidlinger, Ethan Lloyd, Leo Zvonik, and Corrigan Nolasco finished third in Pennsylvania and first in the east region with a relative return of 23.11 percent above the performance of the S&P 500 index, which measures the stock performance of 500 large companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
All five eighth graders are students in MMI Social Sciences instructor Michael Scarlato’s Government class. Scarlato said, “I am proud of Robert, Nathaniel, Ethan, Leo, and Corrigan. It is extremely difficult to be in the top three of this game, especially dealing with the market in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Robert Orbin is the son of Robert and Lynn Orbin of Mountaintop, Nathaniel Neidlinger is the son of Amanda Neidlinger of Weatherly, Ethan Lloyd is the son of Wendy and Michael Storaska of Drums and Robert Lloyd of Freeland, Leo Zvonik is the son of Sergey and Lydiya Zvonik of Albrightsville, and Corrigan Nolasco is the son of Beth and William Gabel of Freeland.
The Foundation for Free Enterprise partners with the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Foundation, whose efforts include supporting fourth through 12th grade teachers across the country with best-in-class educational programs that make student learning real-world and fun, to conduct the Stock Market Game across Pennsylvania.
The Stock Market Game is a program that allows students to experience the thrill of investing, without all the risk of losing real money. The teams get $100,000 of virtual cash that they can use to invest in stocks and bonds. The students are in control of their fortune and compete with other teams from their region and across the state. Through the Stock Market Game, students learn what it means to work as a team, gain a fundamental understanding of investing, and discover how to make their money work for them.
MMI’s team competed in the East region’s middle school division against students in grades 6-8 and participated in the year-long version of the Stock Market Game, which was held from September 16, 2019 to April 10, 2020. Each team competed in four different game sessions, three that were competitive and one that was labeled an enrichment session. The year-long session uses percentage growth above or below the value of the S&P 500 as the basis for determining winners.
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