Five Food Service Workers Recognized for Dedication and Hard Work

From left to right, Division of Food and Nutrition Services employees Judy Wu, Maria Dialektakos, Marvin Gray, Sharon Sheets and Lisa Nestor

Food service employees, who serve 15 million meals to Montgomery County schoolchildren each year, were honored in conjunction with the annual celebration of School Nutrition Employee Week. Five employees were selected to be recognized for their dedication and outstanding performance; they were given certificates at a breakfast held on May 6. This year’s honorees are:

Judy Wu, cafeteria manager IV in the Division of Food and Nutrition Services
Maria Dialektakos, food service satellite manager III at East Silver Spring Elementary School
Marvin Gray, cafeteria manager IV at Springbrook High School
Sharon Sheets, catering services worker in Production
Lisa Nestor, cafeteria worker I at Sherwood High School

Marla Caplon Honored for Dedication in Food Service Leadership

Marla Caplon, director of the Division of Food and Nutrition Services, was recognized by the Maryland Department of Agriculture for her dedication as an innovative leader in food service in Montgomery County for more than 25 years. Along with this award, Caplon was also recognized by Tyson Foods and Share Our Strength for her ongoing commitment to after-school meal service and the well-being of kids in Montgomery County.

Happy Trails

More details are now available for the retirement celebration being held for Interim Superintendent Larry A. Bowers. The event will be held from 6–9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21, in the Lockheed Martin Lobby at The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane in North Bethesda. The cost is $53, which covers hors d’ouevres, beer and wine. The program begins at 6:45 p.m. RSVP here by June 7.

Retirement celebrations are also being held for:

Judy Brubaker, principal of Spark M. Matsunaga Elementary School, at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 17, at Smokey Glen Farm, 16407 Riffleford Road in Gaithersburg. She has been with MCPS for 40 years. The cost is $50, which covers dinner and gift. Make checks payable to Donna Clark at Matsunaga Elementary School, 13901 Bromfield Road, Germantown, MD 20874. RSVP and send payment by June 8. Contact Clark with questions at 301-601-4350.

E. Frank Kaplan, principal of Strawberry Knoll Elementary School, at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1, at Ay! Jalisco, 425 South Frederick Avenue, #421 in Gaithersburg. He has been with MCPS for 32 years. The cost is $20, which covers appetizers and gift. Make checks payable to Strawberry Knoll Elementary School, and send them to Carrie Schoenfelder at the school, 18820 Strawberry Knoll Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20879. RSVP by May 27 to Schoenfelder or call 301-840-7112. Contact Tracy Winfrey-Edwards with questions at 301-742-9995.

Michelle Mach, coordinator of Longview School, from 5–8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15, at That’s Amore Restaurant, 15201 Shady Grove Road in Rockville. The cost is $50, which covers food and gift. Make checks payable to Longview School and send payment to Sylvia Young at Longview, 13900 Bromfeld Road, Germantown, MD 20874. RSVP by June 10 to Young.

Margaret Meyerer, speech and language therapist at the Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents (RICA) and at Gaithersburg High School, and Patricia Brenkus, media specialist at RICA, from 5–7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14, at Nantucket’s Reef, 9755 Traville Gateway Dr. in Rockville. The cost is $40 combined, which covers dinner and gift; $15 if you wish to contribute to gift only. Make checks payable to Michelle Schultze, and send to Schultze at RICA, 15000 Broschart Road, Rockville, MD 20850. RSVP by June 7 to Cynthia McGlone at 301-251-6940.

Simon Seaforth, business manager at Albert Einstein High School, from 6–10 p.m. on Friday, June 17, at Golden Bull Grande Café, 7 Dalamar St. in Gaithersburg. He has 19 years of service with MCPS. The cost is $35 per person. Make checks payable to Ozmara Hernandez and mail or pony them to Richard Montgomery High School, 250 Richard Montgomery Dr., Rockville, MD 20852. RSVP with the number of guests by June 1 to Olayemi Onaghise or Jane Walsh.

Shout Outs

Congratulations to Dr. Betty Collins, Dr. Arronza LaBatt, Dr. Annemarie Smith, and Dr. La Faye Burris, who graduated from The George Washington University with doctorate degrees in Educational Administration, Leadership and Policy Studies on May 12. Collins is the director of the Department of Instructional Leadership Support; LaBatt is the executive director for Deputy Superintendent Kim Statham; Smith is the assistant principal at John Poole Middle School; and Burris is the assistant principal at Col. E. Brooke Lee Middle School.

Dr. Elizabeth Cooper Martin, evaluation specialist in the Program Evaluation Unit, and Natalie Wolanin, logistics support specialist in the Program Evaluation Unit, were recently recognized by the American Educational Research Association for Outstanding Publication for 2016 in the Program Evaluation Category.
—John McDaniel, director of Division of Accountability Initiatives

In Memoriam

Eric Del Marr, automotive tech I at Randolph Fleet Maintenance, died on May 19. He had been with MCPS for 10 months.

Maria V. Mbunga, bus operator at the West Farm Depot, died on April 28. She had been with MCPS for more than eight years.

George C. Williams, building service worker at the Division of School Plant Operations, died on May 11. He had 17 years of service with MCPS.