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UP: To news that West Virginia 11th-graders will be able to take the SAT for free and send their scores to up to four colleges or universities at no cost, as the state Department of Education has chosen the SAT as its statewide summative assessment beginning in spring 2018. The change is a welcomed one for students who can now leave the cost of college entrance exams out of their budgets.

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UP: To a program sponsored by Community Bank that is helping kids learn how to handle being bullied themselves and stick up for others who are being bullied. While it would be nice to believe bullying could be eliminated, that is never going to happen, which means “If you don’t have a solution for when you see bullying … you’re stuck,” said Tom Thelen, author and founder of the Victim Proof Bullying Prevention Program.

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UP: To our region’s seven National Merit semifinalists: Parkersburg High School’s Anna Fatta, Nia Fernandes, Andrew Gnegy, Murad Hamirani and Ethan Weaver; and Ravenswood High School’s Michael I. Morgan and Elias J. Weekley Cope. Many years of hard work and academic dedication have led to such an achievement, and we wish them luck in advancing to attain finalist standing.

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UP: To PHS English teacher Mary Blaker, for being named Wood County Schools Teacher of the Year. Blaker “shows dedication to the profession, a desire to reach every student in her classes, and the respect of her coworkers at PHS,” according to Brian Raitz, chair of the School and Business Committee with the Chamber of Commerce of the Mid-Ohio Valley.

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