http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/diamondes/pta/
Diamond PTA Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, September 1, 2015, 7:00pm
at the Carol Lange Media Center
Attendees: Darwin Johnson (President), Jaime Howenstein (VP of Fundraising), Suzanne
Jenkins (VP of Community), Chris Chimera (Treasurer), Rick Chimera (Secretary), Aisha Aziz,
Nazzi Kholdebarin, Harshad Bhavsar, Jasmin Bavarva, Srinath Sogal, Meltem Sonmez Turan,
Phonechia Long, Andrea Macdonald, Rebecca Nigmann, Liuya Tang, Sandra Gonzalez,
Shannon McKenna, Stephanie Doggett, Kathryn Dickey, Jennifer Meininger, Tracey Parker,
Carmel McGuire, Christine Pettis, Stephanie Theeler, Assel Turgumbekova, Almaz
Nurmakhanbetov, Kristin Johnston, Mary Jo DiBernardo Emard, Bonnie Cybulko, Ramasamy
Kandersamy, John Vuong, Yeshvant Sadasivam, Shannon Phelan
Call to Order:
Darwin Johnson, PTA President, called the meeting to order at 7:04pm.
Darwin welcomed everyone and made introductory statements.
Meet the Executive Committee:
Darwin introduced the Executive Committee by name. See the section below about Executive
Committee Reports for names and positions.
Meet Other Committee Chairs:
Darwin identified around the room the standing committee members by name:
 Kristin Johnston talked about the Diamond Gems Newsletter, has forms for Giant
card, Target card, pta email elist, directory, etc.
 Mary Jo DiBernardo Emard talked about the Cultural Arts activities and how these
events are high impact on the kids (and adults)!
 Shannon Phelan talked about Diamond PTA Membership, about 100 now, expect
about 400. Even just being on our list as a member and not volunteering (yet) helps us
a lot!
 Rick Chimera talked about the county-level MCCPTA. This is where Big Things
happen such as the new superintendent search, PARCC, CommonCore, etc.
 Carmel McGuire talked about Staff Appreciation, for which we need some volunteers
and food for next week's Back to School events for parents.
 John Vuong talked about the Diamond PTA e-list and to sign up for it.
 John and Darwin talked about social media, especially our Facebook page.
 Nazzi Kholdebarin talked about International Night, and how this is a great way to
understand better other cultures that are represented at our school.
 Someone talked more about the Directory which is a great way to be able to actually
contact people, such as other parents in your kid(s)' class, etc.!
 Shannon McKenna talked about Box Tops for Education and how simple yet fruitful
they are. We raised over $1,000 this way last year!
 Shannon Phelan talked about the Book Fair and how kids really love it.
 Stephanie Theeler talked about Donuts for Dads and Muffins for Moms. Come early
because it's popular. One gender can volunteer for the other gender's event.
 Bonnie Cybulko talked about the Diamond PTA Web Site
http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/diamondes/pta/
Calendar:
Darwin went over the calendar items and explained any that needed it.
One suggested change for next year is to separate by weeks the events Open House and
Donuts for Dads because being in the same week can be problematic for people missing work
to attend.
President’s Report:
Darwin mentioned this is his second year as PTA President and is excited to see this year
become a great one.
Executive Committee Reports:
VP Fundraising, Jaime Howenstein:
 Many fundraising events on the calendar
 Giant Food membership card needs to be registered every year with our PTA. Our
Giant Food Committee Chair then submits them to Giant Food en masse. All PTA
members: please fill out the form and turn it in to the PTA!!
 We need a volunteer to become the Target membership card Committee Chair. Your
only duty is to collect forms and turn them in to Target.
 We need a volunteer to become the Harris Teeter membership card Committee Chair.
Your only duty is to collect forms and turn them in to Harris Teeter.
VP Community, Suzanne Jenkins:
 Planning community events
 Establishing relationships with community
 Includes input to Principal Walder's weekly ConnectEd phone call.
Treasurer, Chris Chimera (except budget):
 Lots of activities including handling money, writing checks, filing tax forms, handling
insurance, bank account, sales tax, auditing and forms.
 This is Chris' second and last year eligible to be Treasurer. The PTA need a new
Treasurer for next year, and the time to get involved is now (or soon) so that Chris
can train her replacement in an ongoing, easy-going way.
Secretary, Rick Chimera:
Talked about how new members may be overwhelmed by all the information they are hearing
tonight. Just take your time absorbing it all, and reach out to anyone in the PTA to find out
more – that is what we are here for!
Committee Reports (only those present):
This happened during the Meeting the Other Committee Chairs earlier in the meeting.
Principal's Report:
Principal Walder gave an electronic slide show presentation on the Prometheus board:
 Lots of changes, including school dismissal challenges with buses.
 Listed new staff members and how well they already are integrating into Diamond.
 671 students this year.
 Listed class size metrics per class and by grade level.
 Talked about the school building addition that has been completely planned and now
only needs to be funded by the State of Maryland and designated by the Montgomery
County Board of Education. The plan is with funding in place to begin construction
Winter 2016 with opening in Fall 2018. Diamond will remain open during construction
with fencing around the construction area.
 MCPS did find funding for new Chromebook computers for all 4th grade students.
 New this year, each teacher will send a weekly email to parents for better
communication.
Vice Principal / Principal Intern Mr. Delisle said a few words. He also mentioned he has
started tweeting, even doing some “live tweeting” during school. Check it out!
Budget Review and Approval:
The budget document circulated at the meeting was incomplete. A correct one will be
distributed and discussed at length at the next meeting. Look on the web site between now
and then for the updated budget document. We will vote on the budget next meeting.
Adjournment:
Chris Chimera made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Rick Chimera, passed unanimously.
Meeting adjourned at 8:15pm
In Service, Rick Chimera, PTA Secretary