A team comprised of Dogwood students Titus Brewer, Colton Watson and Lachlan Griffith recently earned first place in the SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game. The game celebrates top-performing teams across elementary, middle and high school categories.

The Dogwood team achieved the highest portfolio values among Missouri students in the competition and was recognized alongside their teachers and school. Coached by fifth-grade teacher Lindsey Thomas, these dedicated students and other fifth-graders arrived at school bright and early once a week to study the stock market and strategize their investments.

“I’m so proud of these students and impressed by all the work they put into this experience,” Principal Kathleen Bahan said. “This is the kind of Project Based Learning that prepare our students to thrive and contribute to our community.”

Hosted by the SIFMA Foundation in collaboration with dedicated local partners, The Stock Market Game underscores the value of equipping young people with essential financial skills and knowledge. This dynamic program allows students to engage in the complexities of stock trading by managing a simulated portfolio with a virtual $100,000. Through this hands-on learning experience, participants gain valuable insights into economics, finance, and market dynamics.

“Congratulations to all the outstanding student teams who excelled in this semester’s Stock Market Game,” said Melanie Mortimer, President of the SIFMA Foundation. “This program is about more than just numbers—it’s about inspiring the next generation of leaders to think critically, make informed choices, and approach financial challenges with confidence.”

Participants explore the value of long-term investing through an innovative educational platform used by Missouri teachers to enhance knowledge in math, economics and personal finance. This comprehensive program improves test scores while imparting critical life skills essential for financial independence.

In teams of up to five, students simulate real-world investing, trading stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. They research market trends, monitor global news, and make strategic trades in real-time using the Stock Market Game’s online tools or smartphone app. Additionally, students can prioritize socially responsible investments aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

The Stock Market Game curriculum integrates lessons, hands-on activities and virtual events to develop critical thinking, research, and analytical skills through an engaging real-world simulation. Teachers access a robust online support center, offering over 1,000 lesson plans that align with Missouri education standards, STEM requirements, and 21st-century learning goals. The program emphasizes the fundamentals of long-term saving and investing while enhancing core subjects like math, language arts, economics, and social studies.

Beyond the competition, students gain invaluable skills in research, risk assessment and decision-making. These lessons not only deepen their understanding of economic principles, but also instill a sense of financial responsibility and readiness for future academic, career and personal finance challenges.

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Kearney Junior High School students from the eighth-grade Science Research Class achieved outstanding results during the 71st Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair in April.

The Bulldogs entered their science projects in the Junior Division, which included local public and private schools from across Missouri and Kansas. The goal of the fair, according to event organizers, is to promote education in the “STEM” fields: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

“This science fair was a real validation of the outstanding educational experiences our students receive at Kearney Junior High School,” Science Teacher Rachel Cerra said. “Our students had some amazing projects and held their own against students from much larger school districts. We are very proud of them.”

Nine KJHS students earned gold medals for their projects. Mary Shaw received 3rd Place in the Materials Science category and was also selected as a Broadcom MASTERS award recipient.

Gold Rating

• Seth Ballard-The Effects of the Type of Light on Plant Growth
• Rubi Canales-The Effects of Music on Pea Plant Growth
• Holly Fort-The Effects of the Color of Text on Ability to Remember
• Skye Jones-The Effects of the Type of Material Used and Amount of UV Exposure on Growth of E. coli
• Brennan Judkins-The Effects of Time of Floor Exposure on Amount of Bacterial Growth
• Mary Shaw-The Effects of the Type of Regolith Texture on the Strength of a Brick (3rd Place in Materials Science category, Broadcom MASTERS award)
• Charity Smith-The Effects of the Color of Light on the Growth of a Tomato Plant
• Ethan Whitehead-The Effects of the Type of Disinfectant on Bacterial Growth
• Noah Whitehead-The Effects of the Keyboard Switch Color on Typing Speed

Silver Rating

• Malarie Sheley-The Effects of the Amount of Air Pressure on the Distance of a Soccer Ball
• Marlee Spicer-The Effects of Caffeine on Plant Growth
• Rylie Wells-The Effects of Gender on the Ability to Remember Lucid Dreams

Bronze Rating

• Thaine Blumer-The Effects of Gender on Morals
• Patrick McNellis-The Effects of the Type of Water on Pea Plant Growth
• Carter Meiners-The Effects of Caffeine on Pea Plant Growth
• Ben Schurke-The Effects of Water Temperature of a Shower on Sleep
• Trey White-The Effect of the Type of Liquid on Pea Plant Growth

The post 8th Graders Excel at Regional Science Fair appeared first on Kearney School District.

Kearney, Mo., May 13, 2022: The mayor of HollyWoof had everything under control.

HollyWoof was a fictional municipality incorporated for three hours today in the east gym at Kearney Junior High School, population of roughly 100 energetic souls – about 50 third-graders from Dogwood Elementary School and about 50 freshmen. This bustling town boasted a welcome center, court of law, bank, florist, restaurants, amusement park and craft centers, all managed and used by students.

The mayor of HollyWoof was Lydia Jury. She stood in a Bulldog purple crown amid a swirl of commerce and surveyed the scene.

“My job is to make sure everyone is doing what they’re supposed to and making sure they’re happy and enjoying their time,” Mayor Jury said. “We’re also learning. We’re learning about economics and how to spend money. You have to spend money wisely. You can go around and spend your money on different things that you really need instead of spending all your money on one thing that you don’t really need.”

HollyWoof was the result of a Project Based Learning experience organized by KJHS Humanities teachers Alli Baldwin and Lauren Thomas in collaboration with Dogwood Elementary teachers Stacey Covington, Sara Alshouse and Kasey Stegall. It was designed to provide an economic simulation, with the freshman running the shops and the third-graders given a limited amount of fake money to use.

“It’s so important for our students to have hands-on, interactive experiences, especially when you’re teaching a topic like microeconomics,” Ms. Baldwin said. “This is noisy and fun, but they are also gaining some really important insights about value and scarce resources. As a teacher, it doesn’t get any better.”

Freshman Tyler Maynard served as the mayor’s assistant for the day. He was figuring out that it’s not always easy to keep younger children focused on the task at hand.

“Today, we’re teaching third-graders how to budget money and how to run a city, how to participate in an economy,” he said. “I’m learning how hard it is to be a teacher, but also how valuable. This has been a lot of fun and we’ve learned a ton.”

MORE PHOTOS

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Kearney, Mo., April 28, 2022: It takes a real Bulldog to protect a helpless kitten.

Kearney High School engineering teacher Shane Remley’s students and third-graders at LENS joined forces this month to design and build shelters for stray cats as part of Project Based Learning. Kittens from Ace’s Sanctuary & Cat Rescue visited LENS today to test out the feline homes.

“Our Project Based Learning unit is about natural disasters,” LENS teacher Abby Madison said. “Our driving question is how can we design a home for feral cats to stand up to Kearney weather hazards?”

The furry product testers got plenty of attention from the young designers and engineers at LENS as they scampered around the room. It appeared that the building projects were a big success. The wood houses were then donated to the sanctuary.

MORE PHOTOS: Kitten House Projects at LENS

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Kearney, Mo., November 5, 2021: Kearney School District fifth-graders Grant Buhman and Cole Langston became producers so that other community members could be consumers.

In this case, Grant, Cole and their LENS classmates researched their local ecosystem and created educational signage recently installed along the stretch of the Fishing River Trail that winds through KSD’s south campus.

Evenly spaced from the trailhead on East 19th Street and south to Meadowbrook Drive, hand-painted triangle signs and printed flowcharts portray and explain the cycle of life that joggers and walkers can discover in their own backyards.

The project started with a lesson plan by LENS fifth-grade teachers Jamie Luppes and Amber Hiley to teach students about how ecosystems are structured around producers and consumers, according to Grant.

“We researched on our Chromebooks about the ecosystem of the certain area that we got,” Grant said. “Then we would draw out our animals in their natural habitat, and then we transferred that over onto wood and painted it.”

Jaci Berntt stood with two of her classmates in front of their sign on a crisp, overcast Thursday and expounded eloquently about how the American Hornbeam bird helps produce the plant matter eaten by an herbivore Cottontail rabbit, which may, in turn, become fuel for a Barred Owl.

“Everything should work in balance, and it’s happening all around us every day,” she said.

The ecosystem exhibits are an ideal example of the Project Based Learning (PBL) that is the driver of all teaching and learning at LENS, according to Principal Rebecca Parker. As KSD rolls this instructional method out across other schools, the level of educational engagement among the students involved in this project is evidence that PBL works.

“This project is conveying so many important and foundational lessons and skills for our students that go beyond just the primary subject matter,” Dr. Parks said. “They are truly engaged in their learning.”

Dr. Parks’ assessment was reinforced by young Mr. Buhman.

“I feel like you’re out here in the wilderness, sort of, observing what’s happening on the board, instead of just sitting there on the computer. It’s hands-on,” he said. “I have definitely learned more doing it this way than if we were just sitting in a classroom.”

The best part of the project for the students is knowing that their work is going to benefit everyone who uses the trail, according to Cole.

“Everyone should come out here and walk the trail now so that they can learn something new,” he said. “It’s always good to learn something new, and I think this is a really interesting topic.”

The post LENS Students Take an Educational Walk on the Wild Side appeared first on Kearney School District.

Southview Elementary School students practice Project Based Learning

Kearney, Mo., Oct. 22, 2021: Hunter Phipps learned that sometimes you’ve got to stop motion in order to start learning.

A fifth-grader at Southview Elementary School, Hunter and his classmates got hands-on experience today making stop-motion films while simultaneously learning about the dynamics of shadow and light.

In Rebecca Shaheen’s darkened classroom, they huddled in murmuring collaboration around rigs that held tablet computers over small paper sets and plastic animals. One student ran the camera while another rotated a light source to mimic the sun and manipulate the animal’s shadow across the set.

“This is so much better than just sitting in a chair and reading a science textbook because you get to try it yourself,” Hunter said. “It’s trial and error, so you can learn from your own mistakes.”

Kearney School District leaders have made Project Based Learning (PBL) a strategic priority this year and into the future in order to ensure that students are prepared to succeed in the 21st-century global economy. Hunter’s work is PBL in practice, according to Ms. Shaheen.

“From a standards standpoint, we are focusing on the change in the length and direction of shadows as the sun rotates,” she explained. “They are engaged in Project Based Learning using stop-motion to show what happens when the sun rises and what happens to those shadows as the sun continues to move across the sky and then sets in the west.”

Simply put, PBL involves teaching abstract, complex topics by having students address hands-on, personally relevant challenges. The hum in Shaheen’s classroom and the degree of focus by the students testified to the effectiveness of this innovative technique.

“Hands-on science definitely sticks with them,” Shaheen said. “Everyone’s interested, everyone’s engaged. We have three, four kids in a group and everyone has a role, everyone can really see what I want them to learn versus just having them read about it in a textbook.”

Back at Hunter’s table, it’s clear that he and his classmates are getting the picture.

“We’re learning how shadows move and are affected by the seasons, and why there are seasons,” he said. “But we’re also having fun.”

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