Now that two weeks have passed, students and teachers have settled into the Stock Market Game at area schools.

After the first week, the Warrior Run Middle School’s team was leading the pack with a total of $99,807. They were just $3 ahead of the Danville Middle School’s team, which had $99,804, and $28 ahead of Selinsgrove at $99,779.

Shikellamy’s team is following at $99,522, and St. Monica is coming along at $99,488. This is the first year that middle school teams have participated in the competition, and they are off to a good start.

In the high school rankings, Line Mountain’s team is leading and is the only team in positive territory. They’ve made $1,083. Danville’s team is in second place at $99,761, and they’re leading Shikellamy at $99,232. Trailing are Southern Columbia at $98,292 and Warrior Run at $97,496.

The local games are sponsored by The Daily Item, and Omega Bank is sponsoring the games in schools in an 11-county region in central Pennsylvania.

Students become involved in the Stock Market Game, and they learn how national and world news influences the market.

Lewisburg team members won the last game because they heard that President Bush might try to help banks involved in the sub-prime mortgage debacle. They made their buy at the last moment, and the price went up. The students had learned how the news can affect the market.

It’s not all that easy, however. Students pay a brokerage fee, which encourages them to consider their choices carefully before they buy. If they buy and sell without considering the consequences, they may lose a lot in fees.

Each team started the game with $100,000, and the object of the game is to make a profit. Early scores show that just one local team has found stocks that are rising in value.

The Daily Item will publish weekly standings of the top five teams in both the high school and middle school competitions among Valley schools participating in the games.