Buckley Country Day School fifth grader George Olvany, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Olvany of Garden City, receives top honors for his essay in the national InvestWrite competition of the Stock Market Game. Lt. to rt.- Front row: Patrick, George, and Mrs. Tricia Olvany; Middle row: Buckley history teacher Ms. Patricia Russac and Mr. George Olvany; Back row: Carla Helgans, Regional Director of the Stock Market Game, and Headmaster Dr. Jean-Marc Juhel. Buckley Country Day School fifth grader George Olvany of Garden City won 5th place in the national InvestWrite essay competition and 1st place in the Long Island regional competition. George's essay was selected form over 20,000 entries submitted by middle school students in the sixth through eighth grades throughout the country! The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the Foundation for Investor Education sponsor this contest for students participating in the Stock Market Game as a way to promote financial literacy for young investors.

This competition challenged students to write a 500-700 word essay to answer the question: "Why is 'putting all your eggs in one basket' a bad idea when you are saving and investing for your future?" Students' essays not only had to demonstrate an understanding of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, but also had to identify which two of these asset classes would yield the best return for their college education.

This is the fourth year in a row that a Buckley student has taken one of the top honors in this national competition and the first year a Buckley student has won 1st place at the regional level. Teaching students to become financially literate is an integral part of the Buckley (www.buckleycountryday.com) history curriculum.

Congratulations, George!