The Quill

John Hancock Charter School November 1, 2021

JHCS Friday T-Shirt Ordering

Tee shirt sales are going on now through Nov. 3! Mrs. Diesen, our awesome art teacher, has come up with a fun design that celebrates JHCS and its commitment to the arts programs. It is available as a tee shirt for $10 each or a sweatshirt for $20 each. Students may wear either the tee or the sweatshirts to school on Fridays only.

We are also selling embroidered fleece jackets for $37. These have the JHCS logo embroidered on them and they can be worn in the classroom any day of the week. It is the only coat allowed to be worn in the classroom.

We've had to change vendors this year due to supply chain issues for the tee shirts so we don't have the detailed sizing information that we've had in the past. The vendor we are using has Youth Small (6-8), Medium (8-10) and Large (10-12). There is no XL option available for Youth, but you could consider sizing up to adult S. I know, I'm really sorry about this. The youth fleeces this year are also a little different. They are a smoother, less fuzzy fleece but the most similar style we could find.

There are two ways to order shirts. One way is by clicking on this link here: https://secureinstantpayments.com/sip/?EID=4864 (You can also get to this link by visiting the front page of the school website.) You have to enter the quantity you want of each item before popdown menus appear where you can choose sizes.

If you prefer to pay by cash, check or credit card in person, you may do that by stopping by the front desk. We have an online google order form for you to fill out to get your sizes and quantities if you order this way. The google form is here: https://forms.gle/97RtRTYN8KuFMzrn6 Don't fill out the google form if you pay by the secure payments method online because that could make us duplicate your order by mistake.

Orders are due in by Wednesday, November 3. Thank you!



Use this link or the QR code to order.


Or Order on the JHCS Website

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Conversations with Your Child Make A Huge Difference!

Talk... Talk... and Talk... with your child.


Studies have found that even short 30 second conversations make a huge difference.



MIT cognitive scientists have now found that conversation between an adult and a child appears to change the child’s brain, and that this back-and-forth conversation is actually more critical to language development than the word gap. In a study of children between the ages of 4 and 6, they found that differences in the number of “conversational turns” accounted for a large portion of the differences in brain physiology and language skills that they found among the children. This finding applied to children regardless of parental income or education.

The findings suggest that parents can have considerable influence over their children’s language and brain development by simply engaging them in conversation, the researchers say.

“The important thing is not just to talk to your child, but to talk with your child. It’s not just about dumping language into your child’s brain, but to actually carry on a conversation with them,” says Rachel Romeo, a graduate student at Harvard and MIT and the lead author of the paper, which appears in the Feb. 14 online edition of Psychological Science.

“The really novel thing about our paper is that it provides the first evidence that family conversation at home is associated with brain development in children. It’s almost magical how parental conversation appears to influence the biological growth of the brain,” (John Gabrieli)

“In our analysis, the conversational turn-taking seems like the thing that makes a difference, regardless of socioeconomic status. Such turn-taking occurs more often in families from a higher socioeconomic status, but children coming from families with lesser income or parental education showed the same benefits from conversational turn-taking,” Gabrieli says.

Taken from Ann Trafton's Article

Beyond the 30 Million Word Gap

Reminder: PTO meeting Wednesday, Nov. 3 from 2-3 in the library of the school. Everyone is invited!

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Lost and Found

We are seeing an increase in the number of lost and found items without the student's name written on the item. Please take a few minutes to put your child's name on their


  • Lunch box
  • Coat/Jacket/Sweater
  • Water Bottle


Below is a photo of this week's lost and found items we have hanging in the hallway. Do you recognize any of them?

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Election for JHCS Board of Directors


There are currently 2 board positions available, Parent Liasion and Vice-Chair. If you are interested in participating in the election, send Mrs. Adamic your resume and a letter of intent stating your qualification and why you want to serve on the board. All resumes and letters of intent are due at 1 pm on Friday, November 12, 2021, to email address julie@johnhancockcs.org. Letters are limited to 1 page and resumes are limited to 2 pages.


Parents will be emailed the candidates' resumes and letters of intent on Nov. 19th. The election will take place online using Qualtric beginning on Monday, Nov. 22nd at 9:30 am and will close at 1:00 pm on Tuesday, November 23rd.

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