The Stock Market soared recently when Junior Achievement of Northern New England brought its annual Stock Market Challenge to Boston, offering students from throughout the region a unique, hands-on opportunity to learn how the market operates by investing and trading stocks as if they were managing accounts on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

In a fast-paced simulation of a 60-day stock trading period, teams of students from high schools throughout eastern Massachusetts participated with $500,000 of play money, battling each other to buy and sell stocks to create the portfolio with the highest net worth.

Local students from Norwood High School, sponsored by Dedham Savings, took first and second place at the competition, with the first place team receiving laptop computers from Staples.

The Stock Market Challenge raised funds critical to Junior Achievement of Northern New England and its goal of teaching kids about financial literacy, workforce readiness, and entrepreneurship.

“Dedham Savings is pleased to support the efforts of Junior Achievement in our local schools,” said Gerard R. Lavoie, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Dedham Savings. “The students from Norwood High School learned real life lessons and left better-informed about how the stock market operates.”