Men are not the only

  Whether you are a custodial parent, a non-custodial parent, a first wife, a second wife, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, ask yourself if you're behaving in the best interest of the child.    

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The weekends (ss) is to be with (bm) that might be during a Robotics' class or competition are First weekend of December, Xmas break weekends 12/16/2000 and 12/23, President's Day weekend 2/17/2001, First weekend of March, 3/30 alternative to First weekend of April cuz Spring break with dad during that time, Mother's Day weekend 5/12.

Summer 2001 (ss) will be interning at V***.com again, and may be asked to work during his summer with his mom, who is still working full time. Internships are generally supposed to be 6-8 weeks. Summer 2001 (ss) gets his learner's permit (looks like we'll be able to schedule the 3 weeks of summer school during his time with his dad). 10/7/2001 he turns 16 and he would be able to drive himself to his mom's, or work. (The dilemma is, will she let him leave when he's supposed to.)

(Bm) regularly chooses to pick up (ss) Saturday mornings rather than Friday nights. Fortunately mandatory attendance at a school play for his drama class was available on the Friday night of her weekend with (ss).

If we went to court, I am thinking it would work to have father in charge of saying when (ss) has to go to a school function (like the judge saying father is in charge of deciding orthodontic treatment), and mother can decide to pick up son after the function, or take him to the function herself.

Can the issue of his internship be addressed here somehow, or should that be addressed later? 

What do you recommend, and how much would it cost?"

ps. 11/09/2000 (ss) told my daughter he'll be hanging around with his own friends at lunch time - Robotics and ISP friends *grin*

Concerned Stepmom

 

Attorney said it would cost 3-5K to go to court over the issue.  The courts generally say either parent can't schedule anything during parents' time. He said that with the Robotics, we'd eventually win, but if she chose to fight it, it could cost more than the 3-5K.

Once we're rich, we might go for it. *weak grin*

Meanwhile, the momentum of ss attending Robotics when he's home with dh may put some pressure on her to take ss to the meetings when ss is with her.

Maybe before his jr year we'll be able to spend the money to take it to court so he'll be able to participate fully and travel on competitions.

Concerned Stepmom

 

What is the FIRST Robotics Competition?

The FIRST Robotics Competition is a national engineering contest which immerses high school students in the exciting world of engineering. Teaming up with engineers from businesses and universities, students get a hands-on, inside look at the engineering profession. In six intense weeks, students and engineers work together to brainstorm, design, construct and test their "champion robot". With only six weeks, all jobs are critical path. The teams then compete in a spirited, no-holds-barred tournament complete with referees, cheerleaders and time clocks.

The partnerships developed between schools, businesses, and universities provide an exchange of resources and talent, highlighting mutual needs, building cooperation, and exposing students to new career choices. The result is a fun, exciting and stimulating environment in which all participants discover the important connection between classroom lessons and real world applications.

Each year, the competition is different, so returning teams always have a new challenge to look forward to. However, the details are kept secret until the unveiling at the Kick-Off workshop. This provides a high level of excitement as everyone sees the new challenge for the first time and ideas immediately begin forming in people's minds.