A team of fourth-grade students at Las Vegas' Lummis Elementary School captured top statewide honors in a stock market game that pitted them against 1,386 teams in grades five through 12. This marks the first time in the more than 15-year history of the game that an elementary school team has won the top honor.

The students from the winning team, who are in a gifted and talented program headed by teacher Sherry Vincent, received recognition for their achievement Tuesday (May 6) from Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller at a ceremony at their school.

Each team participating in the Stock Market Simulation game is given a hypothetical $100,000 in seed money at the start of the competition. The team then invests that money over the 10-week course of the game with a view to making the largest possible profit. The winning Lummis team turned its $100,000 into $150,370.

While the game normally is limited to students in grades five through 12, Vincent's fourth-graders were allowed to participate because of their enrollment in the program for gifted students.

The winners for the three divisions of competition all are from schools in Southern Nevada. They are:

* High School Division: A team from Cimarron-Memorial headed by teacher Joseph Stiglic.
* Middle School Division: A team from Our Lady of Las Vegas headed by teacher Tracy Brunelle.
* Elementary School Division: The Lummis team headed by Vincent.

The game is designed to teach students about the workings of the free- market system and reflects the state's standards for economics education in grades kindergarten through 12. The game is sponsored by the Nevada Council on Economic Education, administered by the Center for Economic Education at UNLV, and sponsored by the secretary of state's office. Heller's office provides funding for team fees from fines it collects from securities fraud violators.