Vol. 42, No. 13
February 28 , 2008
CONTACT: JIM MORRIS |
Maysville High School Squad Aces Consumer-Smarts Contest – Again
A team from Maysville High School claimed its fourth consecutive victory in the Missouri LifeSmarts educational program. The “Savvy Consumers,” a team of five high school seniors, prevailed in the state championship event held yesterday (Feb. 27) in Jefferson City.
The Maysville team will represent Missouri in the National LifeSmarts Championship in Minneapolis in April.
The “Benton Cardinals” from Benton High School, St. Joseph, took second place; “The Bus” team from Sherwood High School, Creighton, came in third.
LifeSmarts is a national program run by the National Consumers League that encourages students to develop consumer and marketplace skills in a fun way. The varsity level, now in its fifth year in Missouri, is open to students in grades 9-12. A junior-varsity division opened this year for students in grades 6-8.
In Missouri, 1,260 high school students in 100 teams tested their consumer knowledge in the areas of personal finance, health, safety, the environment, technology, and consumer rights and responsibilities. The Attorney General’s office also submitted Missouri-specific questions that were used in the championship finals.
This year’s event began with an online competition where student teams competed for top scores. Fifty-four teams qualified through the online competition, having at least four members complete all three tests offered. The nine highest-scoring qualified teams were invited to the state championship to test their knowledge and skills in the game show-style event.
The Savvy Consumers team is coached by Kathy Kagay, a family and consumer sciences teacher at Maysville High School. Team members include Allison Miller, Nick Erickson, Ethan Osborn, Audrey Goodwin and Nicole Bird.
LifeSmarts Question Master Scott Oberkrom, community investments consultant for American Century Investments of Kansas City, offered congratulations to all LifeSmarts participants.
“Everyone in the LifeSmarts program is a winner,” he said. “As the students prepared for the competition, they learned to recognize and avoid common consumer scams and have a better appreciation for how their personal economic, health, environmental and security choices impact the world around them.”
Second-place team coach, Clara Liles, was proud of her students’ valiant effort and light-heartedly offered hope for next year’s competition, pointing out that the Savvy Consumers will be graduating this spring.
The statewide program is coordinated by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Missouri Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) organization. Missouri LifeSmarts’ financial sponsor is American Century Investments of Kansas City.