Schools excel in financial literacy competitions Schools excel in state and national financial literacy competitions

Gaston County Schools might have tomorrow ’ s top executives in the world of business and finance . Students from two high schools - Highland and South Point - won awards this year in three highlycompetitive programs that focus on financial literacy .

For the second time in three years , a Gaston County high school has earned a top 10 national finish in the Capitol Hill Challenge presented by the SIFMA Foundation .

Additionally , Highland student Katherine Kiser emerged as the state champion in the InvestWrite competition for fall 2016 . That contest challenges students to put their critical thinking and writing skills to the test through various assignments related to investment principles .

The South Point and Highland students were honored on Wednesday , May 24 during an awards luncheon in Charlotte .

South Point High School finished fourth this year ( 2017 ) in the nation out of more than 4,000 school teams . The students - Nick Matthew , A . J . Robinson , and Charlie Tran - excelled in the national competition after winning the western regional and state championships in the year-long N . C . Stock Market Game .

In the Stock Market Game , the contest focused on investing a hypothetical $ 100,000 in bonds , stocks , and mutual funds . The South Point students ’ wise decision-making resulted in a $ 60,571 profit , enough to earn the state championship over 312 other teams . Their adviser is teacher David Grimes .

The Highland School of Technology took third place in the Stock Market Game ’ s western regional competition . The Highland team included Landon Burr , Matthew Stewart , John Castillo , and Everett Stone . Their adviser is teacher Dan Froehlich .

Highland earned a top 10 finish in the Capitol Hill Challenge national competition in 2015 .

Highland School of Technology students Landon Burr , Matthew Stewart , John Castillo , Everett Stone , and Katherine Kiser and South Point High School students Nick Matthew , A . J . Robinson , and Charlie Tran were honored on Wednesday , May 24 during a luncheon in Charlotte for their award-winning efforts in the InvestWrite , Stock Market Game , and Capitol Hill Challenge financial literacy competitions .

This year ’ s awards are in addition to others won by Gaston County teams during the 2015-2016 school year . That is when Highland had another N . C . InvestWrite winner ; first- and second-place team finishes in the western regionals ; and first- , second- , and third-place team finishes in the state stock market competition . Additionally , East Gaston High School earned third-place regional honors last year in the Stock Market Game .

Dan Froehlich , the Highland team adviser , said , “ These awards show that our students are excelling in financial literacy . We are very proud of their hard work , perseverance , and commitment to these programs . It takes a lot of time and effort to be successful in the competitions , and it is great to see our students do so well .”

David Grimes , the South Point team adviser , added , “ These competitions are designed to push students to use their critical thinking skills , work together as a team , and implement successful strategies . The knowledge and experience they gain through the competitions will put them ahead of other students in the field of business and finance and help them professionally in whatever career they choose .”

Parent-Teacher Conference Days

In an effort to give all parents an opportunity to visit with their child ’ s teacher ( s ), the school system has designated Parent Conference dates for the fall and spring semesters . The fall parent-teacher conference date is October 12 , 2017 . The spring parent-teacher conference date is March 8 , 2018 . Parent-teacher conferences on the designated days are held from 1:00 until 7:00 p . m . and students are dismissed early . Please note that teachers are available for conferences at other times during the school year . If you would like to schedule a parent conference , please contact your child ’ s teacher .

10-point Grading Scale Gaston County Schools uses a 10-point grading scale for students in grades 3-12 . The 10-point scale is required by the state for high schools . Gaston County Schools also uses the 10-point scale for grades 3-8 to ensure consistency and a smooth transition for students as they move from elementary and middle school to high

school .

The 10-point grading scale is listed below

Crunch It Up Charades !

Everyone should know how to play the classic game of charades , if not search for the instructions online . We ' ve decided to add an ab buster routine to the classic game and its pretty simple . While one teammate is acting out their role the other teammates are doing one of these variation of crunches while attempting to guess the role being played by their teammate : - Basic Crunches - Bicycle Crunches - Reverse Crunches - V-sit Crunches *** The team must continue doing crunches until someone on the team correctly identifies the role being played by teammate .***

4 • September / October 2017 • Parent Teacher Magazine

- Family Fun Workout -