Pablo Neruda Academy's Micah Jordan Wins the New York Citywide Competition of the 'National Vocabulary Championship'

Pablo Neruda Academy's Micah Jordan Wins the New York Citywide Competition of the 'National Vocabulary Championship'

Jordan Outperforms 95 Other Top Vocabulary Scholars and Wins $5,000 Toward a Higher Education Savings Plan and Qualifies to Compete March 5 at the National Vocabulary Championship Finals in New York City

Local Dignitaries in Attendance Included Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President and Martine Guerrier, Brooklyn Panel for Educational Policy

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Micah Jordan, a 16-year-old junior at Pablo Neruda Academy in the Bronx outperformed 95 other local vocabulary high school scholars tonight, winning the first-ever NVC New York Citywide Championship. As the local champion, Jordan earned $5,000 toward a 529 higher education savings plan and qualifies to compete in the "National Vocabulary Championship" finals in New York City on March 5, 2007.

The National Vocabulary Championship is a nationwide educational initiative conceived by television network GSN that aims to promote the importance of vocabulary skills in school, at work and at play. Along with its educational partner, The Princeton Review, the NVC is hosting eight citywide events prior to the New York City finals. The finals will feature Jordan as he competes head-to-head with 49 other students from around the country to win $40,000 toward a 529 higher education savings plan and be named the "National Vocabulary Champion."

Tonight's live event, jointly sponsored by Time Warner Cable and Cablevision, was held at Brooklyn Museum's Cantor Auditorium. The competition featured 96 high school students aged between 13-and-19 from 32 local area high schools, namely: Bayard Rustin Educational Complex, Beach Channel, Bronx Academy of Letters, Bronx Engineering and Technology, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Collegiate, Brooklyn Latin, Brooklyn Tech, Bushwick Leaders High School for Academic Excellence, Canarsie, Curtis, Dr. Susan S. McKinney Secondary School of the Arts, FDR, Frederick Douglass Academy III, High School for Civil Rights, High School for Health Professions and Human Services, Hillcrest, Lafayette, Laguardia, Lehman, Long Island City, Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers, New Utrecht, Pablo Neruda Academy, Queens Gateway to Health Sciences Secondary School, Queens High School for the Sciences, Samuel Gompers CTE, Secondary School for Journalism, Thomas Jefferson High School and High School for Civil Rights, Wadleigh Secondary School, William H. Maxwell and World Academy for Total Community Health.

On hand lending support to the event were such notable attendees as Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Martine Guerrier, Brooklyn Panel for Educational Policy. Other attendees included John Katzman, CEO of The Princeton Review, Steve Quattrociocchi, Executive Vice President of Test Prep at The Princeton Review, Trent Anderson, Vice President of Education for Cablevision and Steve Villano, President of Cable Positive.

Jordan sealed his victory by correctly answering eight of the ten final round questions in the fastest time -- one minute and nine seconds. The final round featured NVC host Dylan Lane, who also serves as host of GSN's television series "Chain Reaction," reading different paragraphs to the last seven competitors. The final contestants answered a myriad of questions involving specific words in their respective paragraphs. The questions focused on synonyms, antonyms and definitions. The contestant who responded with the most correct answers in the shortest period of time under the two-minute time limit was the winner. The runner-up to tonight's contest was Allison Schneider, a 15-year-old sophomore from Laguardia High School. Schneider answered seven questions correctly in one minute and 37 seconds. Lillian Hou, a 16-year-old junior at Queens High School for the Sciences clinched the third spot, garnering six correct in one minute and 24 seconds.

Said Jordan upon receiving his scholarship prize, "I have a tendency to over think, so I just tried to clear my head and come in fresh." Jordan's college aspirations include attending either Cornell University or Carnegie Mellon University.

On March 5, Jordan will be joining such other recent NVC citywide championship winners as Adri Walker, a 17-year-old senior at Laguna Creek High School in Elk Grove, CA; Saba Rahman, a 17-year-old senior from Palm Beach Central High School in Palm Beach; Elizabeth Van Horn, an 18-year-old senior from Cass Technical High School in Detroit; Hannah Zickgraf, a 16-year-old junior from Central High School in Philadelphia; Richard Goggin, a 17-year-old junior from Boston Latin Academy; Noah Berman, a 15-year old sophomore from Metro Classical and Academic High School in St. Louis and Daniel Weber, a 17-year-old senior from Keystone Oaks High School in Pittsburgh.

"GSN is taking the NVC across the country to raise awareness of the importance of language arts in the classroom," said Dena Kaplan, Senior Vice President of Marketing, GSN. "We're investing in America's future by providing money for college to winning students as well as making vocabulary fun and relevant in the game of life. We are thrilled that we will be seeing Micah Jordan at the national finals in March."

"Education is the foundation of our local philanthropy. Helping to develop young minds is key to creating brighter futures for local students," stated Harriet Novet, Vice President, Public Affairs, Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey. "For over 30 years, Time Warner Cable has been dedicated to helping to build a platform for children to reach their full potential. Participating in this competition is a perfect opportunity to encourage students to creatively expand their vocabulary and challenge themselves," she added.

"Power to Learn is pleased to support a great event like the National Vocabulary Championship on the local level because it underscores our commitment to the education and development of students in the tri-state area," said Trent Anderson, Vice President, Education, Cablevision. "Proficiency in the language arts is an invaluable tool that these students will carry with them far beyond this event, and we applaud GSN's efforts to promote learning in a lively and engaging environment."

New York students who did not attend a participating high school were able to participate in the National Vocabulary Championship by taking an online exam to qualify for the finals in March. The National Vocabulary Championship finale will be televised on GSN Sunday, April 15, 2007 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET). Log on to www.winwithwords.com for more information.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR PARTICIPATE IN THE NVC. Open only to high school students who are legal residents of the U.S., between the ages of 13 and 19 as of the date of each applicable NVC exam and/or event. Minors in their state of residency must provide written consent from their parent or legal guardian to be eligible to advance to an NVC citywide championship or regional exam. Void where prohibited. Please visit www.winwithwords.com for complete details, including dates of NVC qualifying examinations and events, additional eligibility restrictions and prize descriptions/restrictions.

About "National Vocabulary Championship(TM)"

The National Vocabulary Championship (NVC) is a GSN initiative that uses competition and wordplay to engage and reward high school students, educators and parents, teaching them the value of a strong vocabulary. Created with educational partner The Princeton Review, the NVC is open to eligible high school students across the country and will be promoted in schools and through a national "Win With Words" PSA campaign. In addition, a robust, interactive website (www.winwithwords.com) will offer a variety of free vocabulary-enhancing tools, word games and study materials.

About "Win With Words(TM)"

GSN's Win With Words public service campaign is designed to promote the importance of vocabulary skills in one's life no matter the age. Words play an important part in education, careers, communication and even being a contestant on a game show. The Win With Words campaign includes study materials, words of the day, and other elements that improve language arts year-long. These educational features can be found on the website www.winwithwords.com. Celebrities who appeared in the Win With Words public service announcements include Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Bergeron, Jeff Probst, Chuck Woolery and Shandi Finnessey.

About GSN

GSN, the Network for Games, is the only U.S. television network dedicated to game-related programming and interactive game playing. The network features game shows, reality series, documentaries and casino games. As the industry leader in interactivity, GSN features over 133 hours per week of interactive programming, which allows viewers a chance to win prizes by playing along with GSN's televised games via GSN.com. Reaching 60 million Nielsen homes, GSN is distributed in the U.S. through all major cable systems and satellite providers. The network is jointly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corporation. For further media information, visit GSN's press website at corp.gsn.com.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review is a pioneer in the world of education. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in New York City, the Company offers private tutoring and classroom and online test preparation to help students improve their scores in college and graduate school admissions tests. The Company's free website, www.PrincetonReview.com, helps over half of university-bound students research, apply to, prepare for, and learn how to pay for their higher education, and helps hundreds of colleges and universities streamline their admissions and recruiting activities. In addition, The Princeton Review works with school districts around the U.S. to measurably strengthen students' academic skills by connecting ongoing assessment with professional development and instruction and by providing districts with college and career resources for both students and guidance counselors. The Company also authors more than 200 print and software titles on test preparation, college and graduate school selection and admissions, and related topics

About Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey

Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey serves over 1.4 million customers in four NYC boroughs (Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and western Brooklyn), Mt. Vernon, Hudson Valley (Orange, Sullivan, Ulster Counties and parts of Dutchess, Greene and Delaware Counties) and Bergen and Hudson Counties, New Jersey.

Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey has led the telecommunications industry in bringing exciting, innovative services to customers including digital phone, high speed internet access through four ISPs, digital video recorders and Video On Demand. Visit timewarnercable.com/nynj

Our parent company, Time Warner Cable owns and manages cable systems serving 14.4 million subscribers in 33 states. Passing approximately 28 million homes, Time Warner Cable includes some of the most technologically advanced and best-clustered cable systems in the country, with nearly 85 percent of the Company's customers located in five geographic regions: New York, Texas, Ohio, the Carolinas and southern California. Leveraging its leadership in innovation and quality customer care, Time Warner Cable delivers advanced products and services such as video on demand, high definition television, digital video recorders, high-speed data and Digital Phone. Time Warner Cable is a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.

About Cablevision's Power to Learn

Power to Learn, Cablevision's nationally recognized education initiative, empowers K-12 learning in the tri-state area by making technology in the classroom useful and by facilitating the home-school connection. Today, more than 2,100 schools and libraries throughout Cablevision's New York metropolitan service area receive high-speed Internet access and more than 85 percent of schools in Cablevision's service area receive free cable television service as a result of this initiative. In addition, teachers, students and parents benefit from innovative educational content and tools available on www.powertolearn.com, a broadband Web resource dedicated to facilitating K-12 learning and the home-school connection.

(Photos available at winwithwords.com or corp.gsn.com)

Source: GSN

CONTACT: Deborah McBride of GSN, +1-310-633-4175, dmcbride@gsn.com

Web site: http://www.winwithwords.com/

Web site: http://www.gsn.com/

-------
Profile: intent