The Swift Current Comprehensive High School's business club finished up their year on a high note over the weekend.

The business club took six students (Grade 12 students Harshini Arumugam, Megan DeJager, Abby de Gala, and Anthony Merkel, and Grade 11 students Eljay Duncga, and Michael Orthner) to compete in the 2018 Saskatchewan Business Teachers Association (SBTA) case competition in Saskatoon. The SCCHS club won the 2018 School of the Year and finished 1st place in the Entrepreneurship category, 2nd place in the Social School category, and 4th place in the Finance category.

Cindy Lowe is the Business Education, Skills & Apprenticeship Teacher at the Swift Current Comprehensive High School and said that she thinks the Swift Current business club's experience played a major role in their success.

"Some of the kids I took had presented last year," she said. "We have done the case competition at Innovation to lead up. We've done practices endlessly at school, at lunch hour, after school and we have done debate with these kids all year the last two years. I think the experience that they've gotten all year long. Some of the schools who attended were new, and it was their first time at an event like this, and that allowed some of my more experienced kids to really shine and do well and come ahead of some of the other schools."

Last year at the competition, Swift Current finished second in the School of the Year category. Lowe said that she made it their goal to come out and try and win school of the year this year.

"This was our fourth time attending the event," she said. "Four years ago we went totally brand new, not knowing what this about and then over the three years, we've built the business program here at the Comp. We've done debate and case competition activities, and last year we came in second place in the school of the year category. We made it a goal to come out and try and win school of the year, and we did."

Lowe said the win is a fitting way to cap off all the students' hard work over the last school year.

"It is the culmination of a really great year," she said. "It really means a lot because we really have worked hard the last three years. To do endless activities, practice, meetings, and competitions, to build up their skill level to be ready to compete provincially and this year we came out on top."

To go along with being the business teacher, Lowe is also the president of the SBTA and said she was really happy with how the event turned out.

"The competition overall was a huge success," she said. "This is a provincial and national event. There is nothing like it held across Canada. We had 145 people at our banquet which is more than we have ever had, and interest growing across Saskatchewan and nationally.  Every year we grow and get bigger and better and next year."

The event, which was hosted at the Edwards School of Business, featured 80 students making up 26 teams from 14 schoosl across Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia.

Lowe said that she thinks the reason for the growth in business education is because students are realizing that what they are taught in business education are important life-long skills.

"Financial literacy and entrepreneurship are 21st-century skills that our kids need," she said. "We see students that understand financial literacy and budgeting have actually a better career planning and making those goals for themselves and starting pursuing post-secondary and careers that are employable. Things are changing with employment with our students, and you cant just go off in the world and get that job like we used to. I think we see career planning being a big part of our student's lives and then we see graduation rates also correlate to that. Kids want to graduate and then pursue something and then understand the finical aspect behind career planning."

The competition also featured some notable names such as Minister of Education Gord Wyant, Deputy Minister Rob Currie, Minister of Justice Don Morgan, and the Financial Literacy Leader Jane Rooney.

Lowe said that next up for the business club is to start recruiting people for next year.

"We plan on starting recruitment for next year," she said. "I like to take the Grade 11 students to the provincial level like we did this year because that allows them the experience and what to expect next year. Recruitment starts now, and we'll starting meeting in October again and planning our year for the fall and preparing again for the year. I have five experienced returning Grade 11 that can really lead the team next year and try again next year."

Lowe added that she is already looking forward to next year's event at the Paul J. Hill School of Business in Regina.