College students take part in St John Tigers Faculty Financial institution ribbon-cutting ceremony – St. John Information

By Natalie Clark Special to the News

SJH Tiger Bank, St.

John High School Business Classroom, held a ribbon cutting and grand opening Thursday, September 15, 2022. SJH Tiger Bank is a student-run bank operated in the USD 350 St. John High School business classroom by 12 students in the Banking and Finance courses within the Business Finance Pathway.

The bank is sponsored by SJN Bank of Kansas. SJN Bank of Kansas constructed the bank during the summer and it includes a student teller window with cabinetry to house the forms the students utilize for transactions such as deposits, withdrawals, receipts, and cash in and cash out tickets and desk space for a student bookkeeper to enter transactions into the computer as well as desk space for a student auditor to record transactions by hand.

Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Rogers was in attendance to perform the official ribbon cutting and he spoke with students and guests about the importance of financial literacy. SJN Bank President & CEO, Chad Fisher, said that he hoped the bank would give students banking experience that may encourage them to come back to their hometown and work in banking. A large crowd of business and community members were in attendance to support the opening of SJH Tiger Bank.

SJN Bank of Kansas staff have given of their time to help train the students and teacher in banking procedures that include customer service and confidentiality, money handling, cash drawer balancing, general ledger entries, and end of day balancing. The accounts and transactions are housed in a network drive and Microsoft Access and Excel are the programs utilized for daily and monthly transactions. Student and staff members may open savings accounts and their accounts will earn compound interest that will be reported in monthly email or printed statements.

“SJN Bank of Kansas is happy to support any program that creates an opportunity for education,” said President & CEO, Chad Fisher. “The SJH Tiger Bank sets the perfect stage to teach the students about banking from both the customer perspective and the operational perspective. It will also teach the students good habits for life after school regarding saving and responsible banking.”

SJN Bank of Kansas’ continued support of USD 350 students and staff to promote savings and financial literacy includes: · Student and staff savings accounts will earn 2% interest at SJH Tiger Bank.

· Students who open a SJH Tiger Bank savings account will receive a $10 savings donation from SJN Bank of Kansas. April 2023 will be the final month to qualify for the 2022-2023 school year.

· Students depositing $5 or more in their SJH Tiger Bank savings account for three consecutive months will receive a $5.00 savings donation from SJN Bank of Kansas. (The three-month timeframe will reset when $5 is paid so students will have the opportunity to earn an additional $5 for the 2022-2023 school year.) April 2023 will be the final month to qualify for the 2022-2023 school year.

Representatives from SJN Bank of Kansas and USD 350 initially visited Washburn Rural High School and Topeka Seaman High School to learn about their student-run banks and procedures. Silver Lake Bank, Shane Koci, has served as a mentor and shared procedure manuals and software with SJH Tiger Bank. SJH Tiger Bank students collaborated to design the SJH Tiger logo to be placed on the forms, software, and signage during the summer and early fall.

USD 350 St. John High School received a grant from the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner that will help support purchasing equipment and supplies for SJH Tiger Bank.

SJH Tiger Bank will be open to USD 350 students and staff during LS, 9:50 a.m. – 10:14 a.m., and 6th Hour, 1:34 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. Please contact SJH Tiger Bank at (620) 549-3277 for more information or email Natalie Clark at [email protected].