The recession is certainly hitting some stock market investors very hard. If you ask Cal-Mum's Hard Stock Café investment team, they'd tell you it was a profitable year for them! Seniors Tyler Murphy, James Kemnitz, Cory Sisson and Colin McAleavey led their simulated stock market team, The Hard Stock Café, to first place in the Democrat and Chronicle's fall simulated stock market competition.

   The investments game, which is played as part of the senior year Economics course at Cal-Mum, requires student teams to invest a mock $100,000 for a ten week period. The game began on October 2, 2008. Hard Stock Cafe ended up with a portfolio value of $221,930 on December 11, 2008, the final trading day of the game ahead of over 800 students playing on teams throughout the Rochester area. This is the 7th year in a row that a Cal-Mum High School team has won the competition.

   The students were invited to attend an awards ceremony put on by the Democrat and Chronicle at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester on Thursday, January 22. As a result of their success, Rotenberg and Company LLC, the game's sponsor, will be providing an all-expenses paid trip to New York City for the students this spring. The highlight of the trip will be a visit to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street.

   This semester, Cal-Mum also had the second place team in the competition, Team NASDAQ, comprised of team members Matt Heins, Dave Nasradinaj, Tim Beavers, and Quentin Clark, which ended up with a portfolio value of $177,459.

   Mr. Brian McQuillan teaches the economics course that has been producing these very successful investors!

   Hard Stock Café team members Tyler Murphy, Colin McAleavey, James Kemnitz and Cory Sisson proudly show off the winning trophy at the January 22 awards ceremony held at the Memorial Art Gallery.

Cal-Mum's Hard Stock Cafe team members Tyler Murphy,
Colin McAleavey, James Kemnitz and Cory Sisson