Your CHS Class of 2020. (Photo property Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association)
Graduation is different, but not erased.
As Coupeville High School deals with the COVID-19 pandemic, it will honor the 79 members of the Class of 2020 next week, but with some restrictions in place.
Graduation, set to go down in the CHS gym Saturday, June 13, will be limited to family members who live in the graduate’s house.
All who enter the gym for the 5 PM event are required to wear a mask, and the school is providing seniors with commemorative decorated masks.
The school district also asks anyone in a high-risk health category, including those over age 60, to stay home.
Coupeville High School does not plan to hire a replacement for Principal Duane Baumann when he departs at the end of the 2019-2020 school year.
Instead, the plan is to promote Geoff Kappes, the Coupeville Middle School Principal, and have him cover both jobs, being responsible for grades 6-12.
That move was announced Monday night by Coupeville Schools Superintendent Steve King during an online school board meeting.
King said he will seek official school board approval at the board’s May 25 meeting.
As the district considers staffing cuts across the board, the decision to have Kappes inherit Baumann’s duties allows Coupeville to “reduce (administration) by attrition.”
“Mr. Kappes is an outstanding principal and he’s done a fantastic job at the middle school,” King said during the meeting. “He has a real heart for helping students as they transition from middle school all the way to graduation.”
While there will be one principal for two schools (which share a campus), the plan is to maintain each school’s distinct identities, while the two staffs work together.
“I want to thank Mr. Kappes for him being willing to take on that challenge,” King said.
This is the second go-round for Kappes in the Coupeville school district.
He was a teacher and girls basketball coach at CHS from 2004-2007, then returned in 2017 to become the CMS Principal.
Baumann, who had a 10-year run as an administrator in Coupeville, was an Assistant Principal and Athletic Director before becoming CHS Principal in 2016.
He announced his resignation in November, with plans for a family move to Port Orchard.
Local students enjoy a recent school meal, and now community members can get in on the tasty times. (Photo property Coupeville School District)
It’s the taste sensation sweeping the nation, and your stomach can get in on the good times.
The Coupeville School District’s Connected Food Program and Chef Andreas Wurzrainer are holding a community dinner this Thursday, Dec. 12.
The event, which runs from 5:30-6:30 PM, will take place in the commons area at Coupeville High School.
Suggested donation for the meal is $5 per person and $20 per family, which goes towards supporting the new, made-from-scratch, locally-sourced, superior-tasting food program being run at Coupeville’s schools.
And what do you get for your fiver?
According to Wurzrainer, “the menu is the same type of food we offer our students each day, with a bit of a holiday theme.”
In other words:
*Oven roasted pork loin with mushroom gravy
*Glazed carrots (sourced from Deep Harvest Farm and Foxtail Farm)
*Mashed potatoes (sourced from Bell’s Farm)
*Cabbage slaw
*Cornbread muffin with cranberry apple jam
The dinner is timed so you can go right from it to the CMS (6:30) and CHS (7:30) winter concerts, which are held a few steps away in the school’s Performing Arts Center.
If you’re planning on attending the dinner, they’re asking you to RSVP, so Wurzrainer and Co. will have an idea of how many meals they’ll likely be serving.
Coupeville High School Principal Duane Baumann is exiting the job at the end of the school year. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
The man walks away.
Coupeville High School Principal Duane Baumann is leaving his job at the end of the current school year.
The move will put a cap on a 10-year run as an administrator in Coupeville, during which time he worked, at various points, as a Principal, Assistant Principal, and Athletic Director.
Baumann has been CHS Principal since 2016.
During my time working with him — otherwise known as harassing him with emails or peppering him with constant questions, while he flashed a quiet smile and waited for me to wind down — I found him to be a rock-solid guy.
Baumann was deeply committed to his job, his students, and his co-workers, and he has made our schools and community better for his presence.
He and wife Barbi, and their five children, will be missed, but we wish them all the best.
Saturday night he released the following statement:
Yes, I will be retiring from principaling at the end of this school year.
I plan on spending more time with my family. We are most likely moving to Port Orchard to be around extended family.
I do not have a new job yet; I am looking at working at the university level, maybe teaching at a school again (I was a pretty good math teacher back in the day) or maybe a new adventure altogether.
Coupeville has been tremendous for me and my family. I have never seen a community so wonderful as Coupeville.
I thought I would share a few (there are many) of my most memorable sports moments I have seen here at Coupeville.
Sean Toomey-Stout scoring a touchdown with the deer leading the way was definitely memorable.
I love watching the boys and girls relay teams in track. They are exciting to watch.
The football game when the fog rolled in and nobody could see anything was hilarious.
Randy King was trying to announce and pretty much could not see anything that was happening.
The top moment though had to be in 2011 when our boys basketball team beat South Whidbey at South Whidbey with the running three-pointer from Ian Smith at the end of the game.
I think there is still a YouTube video out there with it.
There are a ton of moments from band, drama, activities, assemblies, etc., that I have not touched on.
Coupeville, thank you for all the memories.
PS — The video still lives. Bathe in the sweet, sweet tears of South Whidbey:
Coupeville Sports 