Dan McCarthy and his winning student team at Community High School were awarded second place in the Spring 2004 session of the Stock Market Game™ educational market simulation. This team's portfolio had the second highest value of all 388 high school teams in their region of competition for the semester sessions. The Stock Market Game™ is an investment simulation provided by the Illinois Council on Economic Education, a unit within NIU Outreach.

The winning team includes Gabriella Garcia, Elizabeth Jacques, Drew Krecek, Marissa Mendoza and Adriana Vargas. Mr. McCarthy and his winning team will be recognized with SMG T-shirts and certificates for their successful efforts. McCarthy will also receive a cash award.

"The Stock Market game is a great opportunity for students to see how quickly a stock portfolio can make or lose money," said McCarthy. "The risk involved when buying and selling stocks opens up their eyes. They begin to realize that there is no surefire stock that is guaranteed to increase in value," he added.