Back to School Remodeling

The school entryway's leaky, flat roof is being replaced with a peaked roof by Carl O'Neal Construction. The work is going fast, and should be finished by the end of this week.

"It's been a long time coming," said Principal Walt Padgett. 

Ocracoke students and staff were well aware of how wet the walkway was during even a light rain. As Murphy's Law would have it, the majority of dripping water fell right in front of the main entrance to the school, forcing people to make a mad dash inside even though getting soaked was unavoidable. 

"Carl's crew has done a great job," said Padgett. "The roof looks better, and it will be better. We're glad to get rid of the leaks and issues at the front entrance." 

The other changes at Ocracoke School's entrance are interior. 

Due to increased security requirements, there will (eventually) be a double set of doors at the main entrance. Visitors will enter the first set of doors, talk to school secretary Lisa Caswell through the new window into her office, and then she will buzz them through a second set of doors to the commons area. 

Lisa's office has been remodeled to add that window, and another looking outside. Ocracoke School maintenance workers Denny Widener and Chrissy Waller were joined by Paul O'Neal from the mainland to install new storage cabinets for her office. There's also a new extension added onto her office – it protrudes about 5 feet into the commons area. It's a mail room for the teachers and staff. 

When I mentioned that I heard it was going to be a teacher's lounge, Padgett chuckled and said, "It's not big enough to be a teacher's lounge, but we may keep a coffee pot in there."

The new space, he says, "will give Lisa some breathing room" and "is perfect for what we need." 

Padgett plans to ask art teacher Kitty Mitchell and her students to paint a mural on the exterior walls of the mailroom where they extend into the commons. Another potential project for them is to paint above the extra set of doors. Those doors aren't here yet, and Padgett says he's not sure yet when they'll be installed.

Speaking of Principal Padgett, alert readers may have noticed that he's back! After a one-year hiatus from the island, Padgett has returned to be Ocracoke School's principal again. (He was also principal for the '10-'11 and '11-'12 school years. Read more about him here.) 

"I'm very excited to be back," he said. 

Happily for all involved, this time around, his wife, Judy, is completely retired and will join him on Ocracoke fulltime. In the past year, their youngest child, Ali, has graduated college, flown the nest, found a job, and moved away to Nashville, making the move to Ocracoke easier on Judy.

"She knows I want to be here," Padgett said. "And we're both happy to be back. Ocracoke's a special place and I love it. It's a great place to be and a great place to raise your kids." 

For those of us doing just that, here's a list of upcoming events at Ocracoke School:

Monday, August 19th, 6pm in the commons, meeting for all high school parents. 

Tuesday, August 20th, teachers return to school. Stay tuned to the Current for introductions to all the new teachers.

Monday, August 26th, school starts at 7:55am. 

Tuesday, August 27th, Back to School Night at 6pm. 

Ocracoke Dolphins Volleyball season begins August 19th with a home match against the Hatteras Hurricanes. Check the Ocracoke Current calendar for the complete schedule.