A total of 15 Fountain Hills High School students recently took part in the annual Student Stock Market Challenge, this year hosted out of the Westin Kierland Resort on Friday, Oct. 31.

FHHS had three teams of five students take part in this year’s event, which tasks students with investing funds in various stocks, following the market and adjusting their strategies in order to make the most profit at the end of a simulated series of days.

Part of the Junior Achievement program at the local high school, teacher John Burnett partners with local businesspeople in order to educate students about proper money management, saving, etc.

One of the local Junior Achievement volunteers, Dwight Johnson, said the Stock Market Challenge was another big success this year.

“This was a fantastic learning experience for our Fountain Hills students, since a large percentage of high school graduates will participate in the stock market to some degree during their lifetime,” Johnson said.

There were a total of 77 teams competing in this year’s challenge. After the simulation wrapped up, local squads finished in 23rd place, 28th and 59th.

Johnson said that participants learned a lot about how the stock market works during the challenge, getting to take their classroom sessions with Junior Achievement one step further and apply that knowledge to the competition.

As part of the lessons, students learned about how stocks are purchased and sold, how to analyze individual stocks, the concept of minimizing risk, as well as how local and worldwide news can dramatically affect the market.