Schools

Randall STEM Students Awarded for Stock Market Essays

Fifth-grader Issac Chang and sixth-grader Hursh Desai were recognized by the SIFMA Foundation at the Bank of America building in San Francisco on Tuesday.

Two students who received awards at the Bank of America building Tuesday in San Francisco are part of the Science, Technology and Math Academy at Randall Elementary School.

In the academy's first year, teacher Jeanine Thomas decided to use the Stock Market Game as a learning tool for students.

"The whole concept of STEM Academy is to make learning come alive," she said.

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Her fifth- and sixth-grade students used technology to play the game online but also learned the basics of math, such as decimals.Β 

While classrooms across the country play each other in the Stock Market Game, the SIFMA Foundation also sponsors an essay-writing contest called InvestWrite.

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All 31 students in Thomas' class were given the option to submit an essay for extra credit.

Fifth-grader Issac Chang won the statewide elementary division for his essay. Sixth-grader Hursh Desai won the San Francisco regional award for grades 6-8.

Both students got to take the day off with their parents and make the trip to San Francisco, where Bank of America hosted the awards ceremony. Find the video of their speeches on the right.

The essay contest is a partnership between the SIFMA Foundation and theΒ Bay Area Financial Education Foundation where essays are "blind-read four times by industry professionals and scored," said Maria Suggett, western regional director for the foundation.


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