A surprising number of students in Coupeville filled their backpacks with school supplies and headed to school Tuesday morning for the first day of class in the 2005-2006 school year.

At Coupeville Elementary School, many parents accompanied their children into the school to make sure they found their class. Volunteers and teachers were on hand to guide students along the way.

The Coupeville Parent Teacher Association has a booth where parents could sign up for activities through the hustle and bustle of the first day of school.

There appears to be more students attending Coupeville Elementary School than originally planned. Nearly 470 students made it to class Tuesday. That is 40 more students than anticipated, said Coupeville Superintendent Bill Myhr.

“A lot of that bump is first graders,” Myhr said. He added there are 20 more first graders than planned and an additional teacher was hired, bringing the number of first grade classes to four.

The students are adjusting to their new classes and they will soon see some changes to the playground.

Beginning Monday, Sept. 12, workers will install new playground equipment. The project should take three days to complete. The equipment, which cost $50,000, includes a large playset complete with slides, a tunnel, bars and a ramp. The schematic also shows several smaller items such as a miniature climbing wall.

The money to pay for the new playground equipment comes from bond dollars and funds raised by the Coupeville Elementary School PTA. The group held an auction last May and raised $24,834.03 for the new equipment.

The school district is adding $10,000 for a safe playing surface for children.

Gary Goltz, school district construction manager, said the the wood chips that will go around the new equipment provide a high level of cushioning for children and it meets ADA requirements.

There are plans for a covered play area at the elementary school. Myhr said officials are waiting for the bid for the high school construction project before making a decision on the covered play area. The bid for the high school project is expected in January 2006.

The new playground equipment isn’t the only change students will notice this year. New principal Fran McCarthy was busy greeting students arriving for class. She was one of a number of administration changes that also include a new principal, Sheldon Rosenkrance, at Coupeville High School. Former elementary school principal, Glenda Merwine, still works for the school district. She is now the Director of Student Learning.

While Coupeville students were busy attending school, students in the Oak Harbor School District have a couple of lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer vacation left.

Oak Harbor schools open their doors Thursday, Sept. 8.