2 Vol. 119 No. 19 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 May 11 - 17, 2008 The DALLAS PosT 50¢ SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Youngest scientists The 12th Annual Art and Sci- ence Show at I'm Big Now Learn- ing Center, North Memorial Highway, Dallas, was held on Thursday, April 24. This year’s theme included Spring Time on the Farm and Our Bodies. Stu- dent-created art and science pro- jects were on display and the young artists and scientists were on hand to discuss their works of art. For more photos, visit www.mydal- laspost.com. Freddie Lombardo gets a boost from his grandma, Diane, after she sees his science project. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Mason, left, and Aidau Kukosky show Mom, Melisa, of Sweet Valley, the bean plants they started at I'm So Big Now School in Dallas. Lost in his own creation is 6-year-old Sam Nocito, of Shaver- town. kM. BASEBL: CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Fifth-grade friends Courtney Wagner, left, Mallory Faux, center, and Kayla Stearn talk about what life will be like after they move on from their elementary schools to Dallas Middle School during a recent get-acquainted dance. Fifth-grade dance not big hit with principals By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com The dance for fifth-grade stu- dents at Dallas Elementary School and Wycallis Elementary School is meant to bring the chil- dren together before they begin middle school in the fall. Yet, neither school principal thinks the dance, which was held on April 21, is a good idea. “I think there are better ways for them to bond,” said Kathleen McCarthy, Wycallis Elementary principal. “I don’t think fifth grad- ers should go to dances. Playing sports together, having a picnic - that’s a better way for them to get to- gether. I think the middle school’s a “| think there are better ways MB i: LF . To view additional photos, log on to www.mydallaspost.com says these grades are crucial be- cause kindergartners are going to school for the first time, first graders have to adjust to attend- ing school full-day, sixth graders transition to the middle school and ninth graders go to the high school. Traver feels an extra day would get the children used to new surroundings, schedules, buses and lockers. The fifth-grade dance began in 2007 and is sponsored by the Par- ent-Teacher Organi- zations of Dallas Ele- mentary and Wycal- lis Elementary. Prior good time to start for them to to the dance, a joint dances.” ' roller-skating party Dallas Elementary DON. | don’t was held for the fifth Principal Tom Trav- think fifth grad- graders of the two er agrees. schools. “They don’t know ers should go to Parents and stu- how to act yet,” Trav- dances." dents who attended er said of the stu- dents. “Developmen- tally, I think there’s probably a more ap- Kathleen McCarthy Wycallis Elementary School principal the dance, however, felt it was a good idea “It (a dance) is propriate way. I think a better alter- native is to have a joint breakfast or something like that. Maybe we could have a knowledgeable competition or a field day, or maybe mix the class- es together for a day at Dallas Middle School.” Traver also feels students en- tering kindergarten, first grade, sixth grade and ninth grade should begin school a day before other students in the district. He better to mingle,” said Bonnie Wein- stein, a Parent- Teacher Organization parent. “A lot of the kids don’t know each other. They've never met.” Jesse Gove, of Dallas Elemen- tary, favors a dance. “It’s better than a skating par- ty,” Gove said. “The music’s bet- ter.” Mike Bendick, of Shavertown, See DANCE, Page 6 Amy Schappert embraces her role By CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Dallas Post Correspondent Trucksville’s Amy Schappert is living her dream this Mother’s Day and wants to continue to remember the women who gave life to her adopted children. The children’s biological mothers are the reason she is celebrating her seventh Mother’s Day. Birth- mother Day, Schappert says, is celebrated the Saturday before Mother’s Day. Jim and Amy Schappert have been married 11 years and have adopted children, Trey, 4, 0} @: Steena, 7, who light up the #1 lives of their adoptive parents through a process called “open adoption.” Before they were married, the Back Mountain couple talked about having a biological child and then adopting another one. “We never assumed there would be any problems having our own children,” Amy remem- bers. But after three years with no Ww For information on “open adop- tion" call 1-800-355-5500 or 610- 432-2384 success, Amy and Jim realized they would have to take extraor- dinary measures to have their own child. Hormone therapies failed and they weighed the cost, both emotionally and fi- nancially, of in-vitro fertilization, finally deciding not to go through all the time, money and frustration the process involved. “We knew there was a baby out there, so what was the point?” Amy asked. “And it wasn’t important to us that the children look like us, either. A child is a child, after all.” The eager couple opened the phone book and picked an adop- tion agency - something they would, in hindsight, not do to- day. They suggest adoptive cou- ples seek referrals and talk to others who have gone through the adoptive process. Things went slowly with the first agency and, after six months of waiting, the couple was referred to “Adoption from the Heart,” an agency in Allen- town. The agency handles do- mestic and foreign adoptions and the Schapperts opted for an “open domestic adoption,” an adoption where the birth moth- er chooses the family she would like her child to live with. “We were concerned about this at first until we went to classes where we saw that the mothers were just people who had made mistakes,” Amy said. The couple went through the usual state clearances, home studies and biographies for their adoption, which can take up to a year or more and cost a few thousand dollars. As potential adoptive parents, the Schapperts were also able to screen the children for certain preferences they had. Although they considered the medical and social backgrounds of their adopted babies, the trail to a do- as mother of two CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Amy Schappert and her children, Trey, left, and Steena enjoy outside time together after school in their front yard. The family came together as a result of an ‘open adoption’ process. mestic adoption, though quicker and less expensive than foreign adoption, can have its ups and down. The Schapperts suffered through two “disappointments” when birth mothers decided at the last minute not to give up their parental rights. Opting to adopt two children of a different race, the family has faced challenges in a place where minorities are few. The See MOTHER, Page 6 60981512007 9%9
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