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WELCOME!
WELCOME!
My name is Bryan Koch, my pronouns are he/him, and I have served the Soquel Union Elementary School District's (SUESD) community for over eight years. I am honored to be one of New Brighton Middle School's full-time counselors. I'm passionate about supporting student mental health, social-emotional wellness, behavioral success and academic growth. I graduated with honors from the University of Southern California's MSW program in 2015, earning a Master of Social Work degree and a Pupil & Personnel Services Credential (PPSC) in School Social Work, emphasizing Child Welfare & Attendance (CWA).
I thoroughly enjoy working with youth in school settings, supporting school staff, and serving the broader district with wrap-around support and connections to community-based services. When not working on behalf of students and staff, I often spend time with my dog, biking around the county, catching up on podcasts, watching documentaries, or reading.
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Mi nombre es Bryan Koch, mis pronombres son él/él, y he servido a la comunidad del Distrito Escolar Primario Unido de Soquel (SUESD) durante más de ocho años. Me siento honrado de ser uno de los consejeros de tiempo completo de New Brighton Middle School (NBMS). Me apasiona apoyar las necesidades de salud mental, socioemocionales, conductuales y académicas de los estudiantes. Me gradué con honores del programa MSW de la Universidad del Sur de California en 2015, obtuve una Maestría en Trabajo Social (MSW) y una Credencial de Servicios para Alumnos y Personal (PPSC) en Trabajo Social Escolar, con énfasis en Asistencia y Bienestar Infantil (CWA).
Disfruto mucho trabajar con jóvenes en entornos escolares, apoyar al personal escolar y servir al distrito en general con apoyo integral y conexiones con servicios comunitarios. Cuando no trabajo para los estudiantes y el personal, a menudo paso tiempo con mi perro, andando en bicicleta por el condado, poniéndome al día con los podcasts, viendo documentales o leyendo.
My name is Vanessa Eaton, my pronouns are she/her, and I am another full-time school counselor at New Brighton Middle School (NBMS). I received my undergrad degree from San Jose State University and completed my Master's in Education, emphasizing in School Counseling, from the College of William and Mary. I obtained my Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPSC); I am also a National Certified Counselor (NCC) with the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). Additionally, I will be the AVID Coordinator at New Brighton Middle School for the upcoming academic year.
I am originally from Santiago, Chile -Spanish is my first language- and I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. My family and I have been part of the Santa Cruz County community for over a decade and feel fortunate to call this area home. I love being outdoors with my boys and supporting the local art scene in my free time.
I feel honored to be part of the NBMS community, and I look forward to working with your students and helping them grow academically and socio-emotionally.
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Mi nombre es Vanessa Eaton, mis pronombres son ella/ella, y soy su consejera escolar en New Brighton Middle School. Recibí mi título universitario de San José State University y completé mi maestría (Md.E.) en Consejería Escolar del College of William and Mary. Obtuve mi Credencial de Servicios de Personal Estudiantil (PPSC), también soy una Consejera Nacional Certificada (NCC) con la Junta Nacional de Consejeros Certificados (NBCC). El próximo año académico, también seré la Coordinadora de AVID aquí en New Brighton Middle School.
Nací en Santiago, Chile (¡Castellano es mi primer idioma!), y crecí en el Área de la Bahía de San Francisco. Mi familia y yo hemos sido parte de la comunidad del condado de Santa Cruz durante más de una década y nos sentimos afortunados de llamar hogar a esta área. En mi tiempo libre, me encanta disfrutar de la naturaleza con mis hijos, y también apoyando la escena artística local.
Es un honor para mí ser parte de la comunidad de NBMS y espero trabajar con sus estudiantes y ayudarlos a crecer académica y socio-emocionalmente.
DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES
DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES
Whole Classroom SEL Instruction
Small-Group Counseling
Individual Counseling
IEP and 504 Support & Accommodations
Crisis Intervention & Risk Assessments
Conflict Resolution & Restorative Justice
College and Career development
Linkage to Resources
ACCESS TO SERVICES
ACCESS TO SERVICES
Care of Services Team (COST) Referral via Teacher, Staff or Faculty
Self-Referral or "Drop-In"
IEP Mandated Services
News from The Counseling Office
October 2023 - Celebrating College and Career Development!
Dear 8th grade families,
We are excited to begin College and Career Awareness month in the counseling office starting the second week in October. Counselors will meet with all 8th grade students individually in the counseling office to provide college & career lessons (meetings will take place during their P.E. or elective classes). The goal of these sessions is to provide an introduction to college and career exploration, and open up healthy discussions at home around the topics of plans for after high school graduation.
Middle school is a wonderful time to learn about careers and passions and gives students an opportunity to discover their dreams and aspirations; while most of them do not have a clear notion of what they want to become as adults in terms of their occupations, it is worthwhile to explore options early on in their lives.
Parents and guardians, take the opportunity to share occupations from family members and previous generations in your families- for example, looking at a family tree and each member’s career or occupation may give insight or inspiration into possible careers for your children. We look forward to meeting with your 8th grade student and please reach out to the counseling office if you have any questions.
Attention all 8th graders! Our counseling department is launching College and Career Awareness month with individual meetings for all 8th graders. Meetings will be focused on high school preparation and careers. Expect to be called into the counseling office starting this week through December. If you have any questions before meeting with a counselor, please reach out to them directly.
September 2023 - Suicide Prevention Month
Dear New Brighton Families,
September is Suicide Prevention & Awareness month. Since first being recognized in 2008, Suicide Prevention & Awareness month has given us an opportunity to address the stigmatized and often unspoken topics of mental health and suicide. In 2017 California Educational Code EDC 215 mandated that the governing board of any LEA (Local Educational Agency) that serves pupils in grades seven to twelve adopt a policy on pupil suicide prevention, intervention, and post-vention. EDC 215 states that school districts must provide annual suicide prevention and mental health awareness curricula to students in 7th grade and beyond. During the month of September at New Brighton Middle School, our counselors deliver a curriculum called SOS - Signs of Suicide which fulfills the expectations outlined in EDC 215. We deliver this curriculum because suicide is preventable, but unfortunately it remains one of the leading causes of death amongst teens and young adults. The counseling team at SUESD wants to do all they can to educate and advocate for their students' physical and mental safety, and the SOS - Signs of Suicide program helps work towards that goal.
The SOS - Signs of Suicide Program is used in thousands of schools around the country and is the only youth suicide prevention program that has demonstrated an improvement in students' knowledge and adaptive attitudes about suicide risk and depression and a reduction in actual suicide attempts. The SOS Program has shown a reduction in self-reported suicide attempts by 40-64% in randomized control studies (SOS, n.d.). SOS empowers students with critical information they need to identify mental health concerns in themselves or in a friend, and teaches them to communicate these needs with trusted adults so appropriate support can be provided in a timely manner. These lessons are approximately 45-50 minutes in length, and will take the duration of one class period. Students should walk away from the lessons knowing how to use the ACT - Acknowledge, Care, & Tell strategy to tell a trusted adult about possible mental health concerns they observe in themselves or a in friend. For more information about the SOS - Signs of Suicide program, please visit these links:
https://sites.google.com/suesd.org/suesd-counseling-services/sos https://www.mindwise.org/sos-signs-of-suicide/
Remember, help is always available.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Crisis Text Line are available 24/7.
August 2023 - Welcome Back to School!
Hello NBMS Students & Families! Welcome back to another exciting and wonderful school year. Your school counselors, Ms. Vanessa Eaton and Mr. Bryan Koch, wish you the very best as you return to school from summer. We know that transitioning back to school can be hard, but don't worry, we are here to help! We support students in the areas of academic, social-emotional, and behavioral functioning, with the goal of assisting our students in building the skillsets they need to successfully navigate their futures. We love helping students thrive, and look forward to working with you to create positive school experience.
Please take note of some important events coming up in the first half of the school year:
First day of School: August 9th
Universal Screener: August 28th-September 12th
SOS - Suicide Prevention - September 25th & 26th for 7th & 8th graders
Fall Conferences - October 2nd - 6th
College & Career Readiness Conversations - October 16th- December 22nd
Staff Professional Development day - no School for students - October 9th
Fall Break - November 20th - 24th
Winter Break - December 25th- January 9th
Please reach out to the school counseling team if you need support!
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