Mr. Matson has officially initiated the annual 8th grade Stock Market Game. The contest runs from October 8th to December 14th. For the first time ever, West Branch students will be competing for money.

The competition has been a tradition in 8th Grade Civics for 5 years. Many other schools in Pennsylvania also engage in this. Mr. Matson’s first idea was to create his own stock market game on paper. Last year, a team of two West Branch students placed second in the state using the online SIFMA network. They won prize packs including school supplies and t-shirts.

In contrast to other years, we are using the HTMW program. HTMW is the acronym for ‘How The Market Works’. With this website, participants are capable of receiving hundreds of dollars based on how high they rank. Within twenty-four hours, seven of our students were in the top ten places on the leaderboard.  They work individually, investing in companies of their choice. Mr. Matson says that this contest “teaches you economic responsibility”.

Playing this game provides students with an understanding of how the Stock Market operates.