RHS WINS LONG ISLAND STOCK MARKET GAME

RHS Student Investment Team wins first place

(June, 2008 – Riverhead, NY) A team of four RHS students in Scott McKillop’s Economics class, took first place on Long Island in the Stock Market Game, an educational simulation of the equity market in which student teams start with a $100,000 virtual cash account and decide which stocks to buy and sell over a 10 week period. The investment team included RHS seniors Monica James, Joshua Berezny, Frank Greenwood, and Anthony Fata.

The rules are that the team with the biggest profit at the end of that period of time wins. This year it was RHS, who made $159,377--$12,754 more than their nearest competitors from John F. Kennedy High School in the Plainview-Old Bethpage district.

Mr. McKillop, who worked in the stock market prior to becoming a teacher, initiated the game about 15 years ago had one other team come in second. "This team worked very hard and their hard work paid off," stated McKillop. "Their start was a little rocky, but they sold off some losing stocks and remade their portfolio and it all came together in the end."

The biggest gains for the team came from Apple, MasterCard and Trina Solar. MasterCard increased in value by $27,512 and Apple by $27,249 over the course of the contest. Trina Solar Ltd. made $5,272 for their portfolio.

"We bought MasterCard at $193 and it ended at $285," stated Joshua Berezny. "The key was interest rates," they agreed. "Every time the Fed cut the interest rates, the MasterCard stock would jump up by seven to ten dollars," noted Berezny.

While none of them are contemplating a future in finance, they are certainly more interested in investments. Joshua is planning a career in auto body repair; Frank hopes to become a chef; Anthony is interested in law enforcement and Monica will pursue a degree in forensics.

Congratulations to these young financiers.

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