The academic team from Garden City High School successfully made it past round one of The Challenge, and will face the team from John F. Kennedy High School in the second round of the competition airing April 21 and 22 at 6:30 and 9:30 pm exclusively on News 12 and available on demand on Cablevision channel 612 through News 12 Interactive. Pictured during a break in taping are Richard Gustavson, team captain Andrew Butler, Dan Ohngemach and Olivia Lucas. Following their first-round victory, the academic team from Garden City High School is moving on to the second round in The Challenge, an academic quiz show designed to tests students' knowledge in a Jeopardy-style format. The second round match-up between Garden City High School and John F. Kennedy High School will air exclusively on News 12 Long Island at 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm on Saturday, April 21, 2007 with an encore airing the very next night, Sunday, April 22, at 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm. The two most recent episodes of The Challenge are also available on demand on channel 612 through News 12 Interactive.

"Both the competition and pressure increase in this second round of The Challenge, but the contestants have honed their skills and are now primed to perform. Cablevision and Power to Learn, Cablevision's education initiative, are delighted to partner with Long Island high schools to showcase some of the state's most academically talented students in an exciting, entertaining television show. We wish Garden City High School and John F. Kennedy High School good luck in round two," said Trent Anderson, Cablevision's Vice President of Education.

The academic quiz show challenges the four-member teams, and one alternate, with increasingly difficult questions during the half-hour competition. The show is divided into three rounds that include multiple-choice questions, a lightning round, where teams try to answer 10 questions in 60 seconds, and a final round where teams can answer questions freely, but risk losing 10 points for incorrect answers.

Continuing each week through June the show shines the spotlight on the students' academic skills as they compete in categories that will test their knowledge of history, science, math, arts and literature and pop culture, for their school's share of $22,500 in prizes.

Representing Garden City High School will be team members Richard Gustavson, team captain Andrew Butler, Dan Ohngemach, Olivia Lucas and team alternate Christopher Ciaffa. The team's academic advisor is Doug Sheer.

The Long Island tournament will conclude after a series of elimination rounds with a televised showdown between the best team from Suffolk County and the best team from Nassau County-followed by the first of its kind tri-state Challenge Championship among the champions from Connecticut, New Jersey and Long Island during spring 2007. The one remaining high school team will be crowned the Challenge Champion.