Riverhead High School team wins Suffolk stock market contest

Riverhead High School students can certainly put some stock in their ability to invest.

A three-student team from the school took first place this winter in the Suffolk County high-school division of the SIFMA Foundation's Stock Market Game, an online simulation that engages students in grades 4-12 in the world of economics, investing and personal finance.

Three other teams from Riverhead also placed in the county's top 10, while the first-place team was third statewide out of about 2,600 high-school teams, school officials said.

"They're a great group of kids and they did a great job," Riverhead social studies teacher Scott McKillop, the team's adviser, said. "They were on the computer every single day, constantly checking stocks."

Participating teams are given $100,000 of fictitious capital and are asked to invest in three companies that are $5 a share or more through the game website between Oct. 6 and Dec. 12. Students then research companies, track trends, and calculate gains and losses, McKillop said.

The first-place team -- Erik Markowski, Ed Wills and Erik Wills -- finished with a total of $119,257.63 by investing in companies such as Ralph Lauren, Papa John's Pizza and Cascade Microtech, a manufacturer of semiconductor test equipment.

ELWOOD: Commemorating Tom Cutinella

Elwood-John H. Glenn High School recently donated a $4,559 check to the Tom Cutinella Scholarship Fund in memory of the Shoreham-Wading River High School junior who died after colliding with an opponent and suffering a head injury during a football game this fall against Elwood. So far, the fund has accumulated more than $100,000.

Elwood's athletic teams collected the donations at their sporting events during the week of Oct. 5, school officials said.

In addition, Elwood created a "54" plaque in honor of Cutinella's jersey number. It has been affixed to a gym wall inside Shoreham-Wading River.

"The students and community came together during a difficult time to support Tom, and for that we really appreciate the joint efforts to honor a special young man," Elwood football coach David Shanahan said.

WESTHAMPTON: Thirst Project

Westhampton Beach High School's Key Club is in the midst of raising $10,000 this school year to purchase a freshwater well for a village in the developing world through the Thirst Project, a nonprofit that aims to bring safe drinking water to underprivileged communities worldwide. The club is halfway toward its goal, school officials said.

The club learned about the nonprofit when one of its representatives spoke at the school and said roughly one billion people worldwide do not have access to clean water. To raise additional funds, the club is planning to hold a car wash, bake sale and recreation night.

"This is an amazing opportunity to help combat the global water crisis and make a difference in the world around us," said Kiera Solomon, a senior and Key Club member at Westhampton Beach High School.

ISLANDWIDE: Kohl's Cares

Kohl's Department Stores is accepting nominations for volunteers, from ages 6 to 18, who have made a positive impact on their community as part of its 2015 Kohl's Cares Scholarship Program, which will see more than 2,500 students issued $400,000 in scholarships and prizes. Nominations are accepted at kohlskids.com until March 13.

Ten national winners will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship, and Kohl's will donate $1,000 to a nonprofit organization on each national winner's behalf. Nearly 200 students will win $1,000 regional scholarships. Nominators must be 21 or over.

Since the program was initiated in 2001, more than 22,000 students nationwide have been issued more than $4.2 million in total scholarships and prizes.