ONE STEP CLOSER TO VICTORY: The academic team from Garden City High School has beaten the competition thus far and is now a Nassau County semifinalist in The Long Island Challenge. Kellenberg Memorial High School will take them on in the semifinal competition airing on May 13 and May 14 at 6:30 and 9:30 pm exclusively on News 12. Prepared to compete at Cablevision's Hauppauge studio are Andrew Butler; Eric Bevilacqua; team captain Arash Bahar and Edward Keenan. Continuing their phenomenal winning streak in the quarterfinal round, the academic team from Garden City High School moves on to the Nassau County semifinal round of The Long Island Challenge. The team members have proven their expertise in such areas as global events, local history, popular culture, art, literature, math and science. In order to make it to the finals, Garden City will have to beat Kellenberg Memorial High School. The third-round competition will be shown exclusively on News 12 Long Island at 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm on Saturday, May 13, 2006, with an encore airing the very next night Sunday, May 14, at 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm.

Garden City is one of only four Nassau County schools to make it this far in the 2005-2006 season of The Long Island Challenge. The academic quiz show, moderated by popular News 12 Anchor Scott Feldman, challenges the four-member teams with increasingly difficult questions during the half-hour competition. Now in its ninth year, the Long Island tournament will conclude with a televised showdown between the Nassau and Suffolk champions that is scheduled to air on June 17, 2006. The Power to Learn Challenge Championship, the first interstate challenge between champions from Long Island and New Jersey is scheduled to air on News 12 on June 24, 2006.

"The teams are tougher and the stakes are higher in the third round of The Long Island Challenge. All the students have done a fantastic job of maintaining their 'collective cool' when the pressure is on - and it's only increasing. We wish Garden City and Kellenberg Memorial good luck in the semifinals. From here on in, it's anyone's game to win," said Dodie Tschirch, Cablevision's Regional Vice President of Public Affairs.

Garden City Becomes a Semifinalist in The Long Island Challenge2-2-2-2

Representing Garden City High School will be team members Andrew Butler; Eric Bevilacqua; team captain Arash Bahar; Edward Keenan and team alternate Peter O'Hanlon. The team's academic advisor is Doug Sheer.

Continuing each week through June 2006, the show shines the spotlight on the students' academic skills as they compete for approximately $20,000 in prizes.

The 30-minute show is divided into rounds that include multiple-choice questions and a lightning round, where teams try to answer 10 questions in 60 seconds. In the final round, teams can answer questions freely, but risk losing 10 points for any incorrect answers.

More information on The Long Island Challenge, including standings, statistics and short contestant bios, will be available on Cablevision's award winning educational website www.powertolearn.com as the tournament progresses. The Long Island Challenge is sponsored in part by Nissan, Alure Home Improvements, LIPA and Cablevision.