Urban Word & NY Knicks Annual College Fair and Open Poetry Audition

NOVEMBER  7th, 10AM-3PM

Hammerstein Ballroom (34th Street @ 8th Ave), New York, NY

• Featuring 50+ colleges and universities, 10am-2pm
• All Day Entertainment (spoken word, hip-hop, dance)
• Open Poetry Audition (Spit a 1-minute poem to enter the Spoken Word Competition for cash scholarships), 10am-3pm
• All Day Workshops (financial aid, essay writing)
• Register for full-ride scholarships to University of Wisconsin and Mercy College for Seniors in the “Why I Write” written contest
• See which colleges will be there.

This is the college fair event of the year!

This College Fair is one of the most unique annual college fairs around the tri-state area. High school students are encouraged to come out and meet with over 60 colleges and universities from around the country. While exploring the fair, you will be able to watch master poets and dance groups perform, listen to music and live bands, and interact with over 2,000 students. In addition to all of these festivities, there are two dynamic Poetry competitions going on at the same time.

College application workshops will be conducted throughout the day and financial aid advisors will be on hand to answer any questions. Special guests, including Knicks Alumni, will make periodic appearances throughout the day and sign autographs.

Register for the college fair. Download Flyer.

The Knicks Poetry Slam Program is broken up into two contests, Spoken Word and Written.

(YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ENTER A COMPETITION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COLLEGE FAIR)

1. Spoken Word Competition — A Poetry Slam competition where students progress through an Open Audition, Poetry Workshops, Preliminary Slams, Semi-final Slams, all to compete at the Knicks Poetry Slam Finals at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway.  More info.

Spoken Word Prizes

• 1st place – $10,000 laptop and printer
• 2nd place – $7,500 laptop and printer
• 3rd place – $5,000 laptop and printer
• 4th — 10th – $1,000

To be eligible for this competition, participants must prepare a 1-minute poem audition and perform before a panel of judges at the College Fair on November 7th between 10am-3pm. Top scorers will be placed in a 5-week writing workshop series taking place at sites across the city. Open to teens ages 13-19 years old.

2. Written Competition — students must submit a portfolio of original work including: an essay “The Reason I Write”, poetry samples, community service and a resume. The portfolio will be reviewed by a panel of judges to determine the winners.  More info.

Written contest Prizes

• 2 full scholarships (4 years) to the University of Wisconsin
• 1 full tuition scholarship (4 year) to Mercy College
• To be eligible for this competition, participants must register here at www.knickspoetryslam.com. No audition is necessary. Open to High School Seniors

Ages 11 to 15

1. Experience early adolescence, a period of rapid growth and change
2. Begin process to attain adult appearance and sexual maturity
3. Physical awkwardness and restlessness are common as a result of rapid and uneven physical growth
4. Wide variations in physical maturity occur
5. Girls begin their adolescent growth about  2 years ahead of boys
6. Girls tend to reach physiological (biological) maturity earlier than boys
7. May tire easily
8. As physical growth nears completion, increased muscular development and resistance to fatigue make new skills and activities possible
9. Team sports assume a greater importance
10. Development of formal abstract thinking
11. Judgment may be hampered by lack of experience and emotional impatience
12. Open to accepting differences between and among other young people
13. Seek a sense of security or acceptance through “us” and “them”
14. Preoccupation with sexuality and approaching adulthood
15. Concerned with relating to the opposite gender
16. Concerned with sexuality and sexual orientation
17. Self-conscious about dress and appearance
18. May become shy
19. Peer loyalties become strong and conduct is often determined by the values and standards set by the peer group
20. Tendency to become extremely emotional when dealing with conflicts in social relationships
21. Can become highly critical of adults, yet form strong attachments with adults who show personal interest
22. May experience conflict with parents over independence
23. May experience conflict between parental values and those of the peer group
24. May experience deep feelings of rejection during conflicts involving behavior and authority issues
25. Developing their own sense of morality and worldview

Ages 9 to 11

1. Are increasingly able to do independent critical thinking
2. May be interested in perfecting skills and repeat a task until it is “perfect”
3. Are frequently interested in the mechanics of things, what things are made of, and how they operate
4. Become more detail oriented in collecting, identifying, and classifying and categorizing objects
5. Become increasingly interested in special fields–science, the arts, literature, sports–and may prefer to concentrate on that area
6. Enjoy making plans and have an improved ability to budget their time
7. Are very aware of fairness issues
8. Frequently make judgment calls and observe common sense
9. Are open to exploration of ideas of social justice and social welfare
10. Are increasingly able to discuss problems, consider different options
11. Are capable of strong loyalties and may develop “hero worship”
12. Have already formed strong ideas about differences
13. Are susceptible to change their thoughts based on new experiences

Ages 8 to 9

1. Exhibit great curiosity and interest in immediate surroundings and the world: material and social
2. Speculate about why things happen
3. Often want to belong to a group, sometimes defined by excluding others
4. Are becoming more aware of responsibility to others
5. Are increasingly able to evaluate self and others
6. Are concerned about fairness in many areas –games, class rules, privileges, penalties
7. Continue to deal with issues of acceptance or rejection
8. Are able to concentrate for relatively long periods of time on a given task
9. Are increasingly aware of and sensitive to differences between the standards and values of different groups –family, peers, school
10. Are becoming more capable of self-discipline

Ages 7 to 8

1. Develop increased interest and skill in games requiring coordination of small muscles (e.g. hitting moving targets, catching with one hand)
2. Increased ability to master the coordination of writing, though fine penmanship may still be difficult
3. Begin to identify with group responsibilities and purposes
4. Participate in group activities and thinking
5. Frequently show allegiance to peer group rather than to adults
6. Develop increased empathy
7. Can take different sides of an argument
8. Become more adept at defining problems and developing logical patters of problem solving
9. Can evaluate a situation with given information
10. Can distinguish fact from fiction
11. Develop greater capacity to accept constructive criticism and suggestions

Ages 6 to 7

1. Are developing greater auditory and visual discrimination
2. Follow directions with greater concentration
3. Demonstrate greater span of attention
4. Show an increased vocabulary
5. Show interest in science–growing things, animals, space
6. Develop awareness of rules in games
7. Feel comfortable with structure and schedules–knowing what to expect
8. Define “self” largely on how the significant adults in their lives see them
9. Recognize simple cause and effect
10. Recognize hierarchy
11. Increasingly enjoy spending longer periods of time with other children
12. Appreciate elaboration and humor
13. Are increasingly able to work in groups
14. Are willing to listen to others and share ideas
15. Develop increased self-confidence as their skills improve
16. Continue to deal with individual and group differences
17. Are extremely susceptible to adult role models and their values and beliefs
18. Are sensitive to and may be afraid of criticism or disapproval
19. Are developing skills of inquiry and discovery
20. Are able to write down findings and new information learned

Ages 5 to 6

1. Are developing sense of left or right handedness
2. Have fairly good large muscle development though frequently small muscles are not yet able to manage detailed work such as writing or sewing
3. Are usually full of energy, need opportunities for physical movement of both large and small muscles
4. Need concrete objects to manipulate
5. Are beginning to classify objects, identify common properties
6. Are gaining independence in activities
7. Are able to choose their own activities and based on prior experience, may be able to plan and complete simple projects
8. Enjoy the world of make-believe but often cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality
9. Can dramatize and role-play incidents in home and community life
10. Have a strong sense of possession–often don’t like to share
11. Begin to be sensitive to differences, both individual and group
12. Seek praise and approval from adults
13. Are exploring forming relationships with other children
14. Read pictures
15. Recognize letters, some words
16. Can retell and invent stories
17. May be able to read words and short sentences
18. Can identify some numbers on a calendar or a clock
19. Can count numbers in sequence up to point
20. Are learning or can identify colors, sizes, shapes
21. Are beginning to be aware of sequence, time, distance
22. Can follow simple oral directions
23. Are learning to see themselves as separate and unique
24. Are building the foundations for life-long trust or mistrust
25. Are building a degree of self-acceptance
26. May go to extremes in behavior