The PNC Christmas Price Index® - SIFMA Foundation Stock Market Game™ Challenge PNC and the SIFMA Foundation have teamed up to bring an exciting new competition to you and your Stock Market Game students—the PNC Christmas Price Index® – SIFMA Foundation Stock Market Game Challenge (or PNC CPI SIFMA Foundation SMG Challenge)! Participation is free of charge and the academic value is indisputable! Students taking part in the PNC CPI SIFMA Foundation SMG Challenge have the chance to sharpen their critical thinking and math skills, while expanding their knowledge of global economic trends and competing for exciting prizes! Enter your teams today at http://sifma.org/smgcorner/priceindex The Official Guidelines, eligibility requirements, and rules for participation are stated below: Guidelines It is the responsibility of the teachers to familiarize themselves and their students with the Official Guidelines and the Official Rules of the PNC CPI SIFMA Foundation SMG Challenge. Teams failing to adhere to the Official Guidelines and Rules will be disqualified. Decisions by the SIFMA Foundation regarding the PNC CPI SIFMA Foundation SMG Challenge are final. All entries should be submitted online using the official PNC CPI SIFMA Foundation SMG Challenge Entry Form. Entries must be received NO LATER than 11PM Eastern Time, November 29, 2014. Entries received after 11PM ET, November 29, 2014, will not be considered. Visit http://www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com on December 1, 2014 to see official total prices of the 2014 PNC Christmas Price Index. 1. Requirements for Participation 1.1 The PNC CPI SMG Challenge is only open to “active” middle school and high school (grades 6 – 12) teams registered as “Teacher with Class(es)” in one of the current Fall 2014 trading sessions of the SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game (SMG) program in Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, and Wisconsin. 1.2 A team is considered “active” when it has placed one or more trades using The Stock Market Game online portfolio system. 1.3 Each SMG team may submit no more than one entry. The same student may not be on more than one SMG team. An SMG team is composed of up to five students. 1.4 Each entry must be an original work, representing the research, thinking, and writing of the students on the submitting SMG team. 1.5 Teachers and SMG teams are required to know and follow the Official Rules and Guidelines. Failure to do so will lead to disqualification. 1 2. Formatting the Entry 2.1 All entries must be made using the official PNC CPI SIFMA Foundation SMG Challenge online Entry Form. 2.2 All Entry Forms MUST INCLUDE the teacher’s email address, SMG Advisor ID and the SMG team ID. 2.3 Student names MUST NOT appear on the entry. Identification of any of a team’s students on the entry will result in disqualification. 3. Prizes In acknowledgement of student effort, accomplishment and cooperative learning, three national prize levels have been established in the PNC CPI SIFMA Foundation SMG Challenge. The awards process recognizes the work of the teacher, the school, the SMG team, and the peers of the students with the most accurate estimates and best rationales. Prizes will be awarded in care of the teacher, after the winners have been announced. First Place • • • • $250 gift card for each team member $150 gift card for teacher Pizza Party for class Trophy for school Second Place • • • • $150 gift card for each team member $125 gift card for teacher Pizza Party for class Trophy for school Third Place • • • • $100 gift card for each team member $100 gift card for the teacher Pizza Party for class Trophy for school 4. Judging 4.1 The winning entry will have: a) Estimated the dollar amounts of the individual items and of the Total Price of the 2014 PNC CPI (Answers A – M) to the nearest cent. b) Written a succinct response to the PNC CPI SIFMA Foundation SMG Challenge one-paragraph essay question. 4.2 The one-paragraph essay portion of the PNC CPI SIFMA Foundation SMG Challenge entry should be: a) Presented in a manner that indicates there was a logical thinking process and research involved in addressing the assignment. b) NO LONGER than 800 words. PNC Christmas Price Index® and the PNC Logo are registered trademarks of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. THE STOCK MARKET GAME is a program of the SIFMA Foundation. 2