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Principal

 

Welcome to New Bridge Middle School!

I am thrilled to be returning to the NBMS family as principal for the 2023-24 school year. I look forward to partnering once again with an excellent faculty and staff of very dedicated individuals. Together with our talented students and supportive parents, our teachers work hard to achieve the school’s mission, which is Excellence in Education. I am looking forward to serving our students, their families and our community. Go Bears!

Originally from Washington State, I moved to Onslow County in 1990. Upon graduation from UNC Wilmington with my Bachelor of Arts degree, I began my teaching career in Onslow County. I served at the elementary level, working in the second, third and fourth grade levels through 2003. It was at that time that I decided to pursue my administrative degree at East Carolina University. I began my administrative career in 2004 as the Assistant Principal of Richlands Elementary. Since then, I have served in an administrative capacity at several OCS Schools: Meadowview Elementary (2008-2012), New Bridge Middle School (2012 - 2017), Swansboro High School (2017-18), Jacksonville High School (2018 - 2020) and, most recently, at Silverdale Elementary as principal (2020-22).

I am a proud parent of three Onslow County Schools graduates. Two of which went through New Bridge Middle School. My oldest daughter graduated from Richlands High School and went on to pursue her Bachelors degree at Appalachian State University and then on to Graduate School at NC State University. She is currently a small business owner in Jacksonville. My middle daughter graduated from Jacksonville High School and went on to earn her degree in Elementary Education at UNCW and is currently a third grade teacher in Onslow County Schools. My youngest daughter graduated from Jacksonville High School and will begin her third year at Appalachian State University this fall.  

I look forward to working with you and your children. Please feel free to contact me at any time for questions or concerns that you may have. I will communicate weekly with parents and students via a digital SMORE Newsletter. This link will be sent via text and email. Please ensure that we have updated parent contact information. This link will be accessible on the school webpage as well.

Please follow us on FACEBOOK

https://www.facebook.com/NewBridgeMiddleSchool

 

If you have any questions, please call our front desk at 910-346-5144.

 

Educationally,

Michelle Padgett, Principal

michelle.padgett@onslow.k12.nc.us

 

Bears Have PRIDE!

Our NBMS Bears have a standing tradition of Excellence in Education:

*We are currently in the process of seeking our North Carolina STEM School of Distinction Certification. We hope to reach this goal by the end of the 2024-25 school year.

*Our STEM Lab engages students with the Paxton curriculum. This STEM program provides students with hands-on, real world applications in technology and engineering.

*Our math program is one of the strongest in the district and ranks very high at the state level.  Our teachers work hard to provide a rigorous math program for our students. In addition to classroom instruction, student instruction is individualized through the iREADY pathway. This math program identifies existing strengths and weaknesses of each student and creates an individualized pathway that is specific to their needs. 

*NBMS Science Department has a strong focus on the Scientific Method. Students engage weekly with hands-on experiments and research in the NBMS science Lab.   

*NBMS offers High School Level Courses to those 8th grade students who qualify and are interested in accelerating their academics in preparation for Honors, AP and IB classes in high school. Currently, we offer students the opportunity to participate in Math 1, Earth Environmental Science and World History.

*NBMS has the distinction of being a National Rated A+ school. Art concepts are integrated throughout the middle school curriculum. 

* NBMS students demonstrate their academic and creative strength through various academic competitions. These academic opportunities include: Academic Derby, Math Counts, Chess Team, Robotics, Odyssey of the Mind and Battle of the Books.

*New Bridge gained national attention through the Intel School of Distinction program.  After a rigorous review process, New Bridge was recognized as one of the top three middle school science programs in the nation (2011 Intel School of Distinction).  During 2014, the school again received national recognition through the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow challenge.  Out of 2500 school applications across the nation, NBMS was named a top 15 school!  NBMS was also the North Carolina winner!  

*In a  Jacksonville Daily News opinion/editorial piece, Mike McHugh wrote about his experience with New Bridge.  In his article, he described New Bridge as being an “incubator for learning.”  After seeing our teachers and students in action, Mr. McHugh was moved to write that “the culture of learning is palpable” at New Bridge Middle.   I believe his words accurately capture the spirit of New Bridge Middle School.