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JT ONeill - Brook Haven Counselor
"The hardest thing to learn in life is
which
bridge to cross and which bridge to burn."
-Laurence J.
Peter
Hi there –
Children in school today are arriving with a full array of troubled lives. Many children need the support of a mentor adult to be able to focus on school. To this end, the SUSD Board of Trustees has honored the needs of students and parents by continuing to fund school counseling at all levels in the district. I am fortunate to hold that position at Brook Haven School. My name is JT O’Neill and I am delighted to be working with our middle school students and parents.
I am available daily to students and parents. My goal is to call each student by name and get to know them academically, socially, and personally while they are at Brook Haven. The end of the school year is always bittersweet for me as I have grown quite fond of the graduating class and it is painful to send them on their way – but there is always a new group of children to get to know!
I am out on the yard daily at lunch and in and out of classrooms all day. I want to be visible and easily accessible to students. I am available to help sort out the big issues in life as well as the little things that can really get a person down on any given day. The role of school counselor is to guide through the little things and know when students need more help. If and when that time comes, I talk to the child about more help and gain his or her permission to talk with a parent about professional counseling. We are also fortunate to have ten hours a week of time from West County Community Services so children with limited resources can receive counseling services on campus.
In addition to serving as a crisis counselor, I am also responsible for
creating and maintaining the master schedule. It is always my goal to listen to
the schedule preferences of individual students and work toward accommodating
them when possible. I also facilitate a progress report system where students
(and parents) can monitor their own progress in classes by picking up and
taking home weekly progress reports.
Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns about your child. I can be reached through the BH office (829-4590) or through email JT ONeill.
I look forward to working with you and your children –
-
--JT
Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end. Unknown
Life is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
Life can only be understood backwards , but it must be lived forwards. Soren Kirkegaard.
Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.
Recommended Reading:
Nurture Shock, written by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.
I think many BH parents would find it interesting and useful. The book includes ten chapters that provide research based information on such topics as siblings, importance of sleep, why kids lie, the inverse power of praise, and teen rebellion. I do have my copy in the office and would be happy to loan it out for a week at a time to parents who might want to read it.
Field Guide to the American Teenager: Appreciating the Teenager You Live With by Michael Riera and Joseph DiPrisco
Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers by Michael Riera
Staying Connected to your Teenager - Michael Riera
I have found all three of the above books to be invaluable resources for parents. Michael Riera is a former school counselor and frequent guest on KGO radio talk shows. He has a great handle on what it means for parents to transition from "manager" of their teenagers lives to "consultant" . He also provides a wealth of communication tools and background info on the developmental stages from pre-adolescence through high school.
Why Do They Act That Way? A Survival Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen by David Walsh
This is a comprehensive and very accessible guide to the developmental stages of brain development from childhood into adolescence and through to adulthood. The author gives parents info on how to understand, communicate with, and stay connected to their teenager.
The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids by Madeline Levine
I liked this book a lot. The author is Marin County psychologist and she knows that segment of the population who can give their kids so many material advantages but who can also fail their kids when it comes to holding their kids accountable and teaching them decision making skills. The author understands the pressures that are on kids and the value of mistakes for everyone. She includes parenting strategies and appropriate expectations for different ages.
