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The completed “We Are Thankful” book, comprised by Lauren Trahan’s second grade class at Rayne Catholic Elementary, is displayed during the school book signing ceremony held in the school gym.

RCE second graders host book signing of authored ‘We Are Thankful’ publication

RAYNE - The second grade class at Rayne Catholic Elementary completed a most productive 2018-2019 school project sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a “We Are Thankful” book.
“They worked really hard on this project,” stated RCE second grade teacher Lauren Trahan. “They are really proud of the end product.”
Trahan wanted to find a project for her students that was both meaningful and educational.
“When I saw that this company allowed students to publish their own book, I knew this would be the perfect keepsake and something the students would be proud of in the long run,” Trahan continued.
After researching the company and procedure, Trahan knew this was the perfect project for her class and decided to entitle the book, “We Are Thankful”.
“I knew with the holiday season right around the corner, this would be the perfect fit,” Trahan stated. “I challenged my students to really think about the true meaning of Thanksgiving and discussed all of the people and things we are all blessed with. This led them to seeing what they are truly thankful for.
“As they began to write what they were thankful for and started drawing people and things that were important to them, I was blown away. They truly exceeded all of my expectations.”
Each student wrote and illustrated a page; afterwhich, Trahan surprised them by having the hard-covered book bound and then celebrated the end product with a book signing event to show their families.
“I knew after all of their hard work with this project I needed to do something special for them,” Trahan noted. “I decided to set up a surprise book signing and invited their families to attend.
“I waited and told the students just a few minutes before their surprise that their books had arrived. They were so excited. They could not wait to see their work in a “real” book.
“Once they saw their work in the book, they were all so proud of being able to accomplish this project.”
During the book signing, RCE parent Celeste Dupuis stated, “It was such an amazing experience to see our little authors smile from ear to ear as they each signed their books. We love Mrs. Lauren and her creativeness.”
Another mother, Erin Prejean noted. “As a mother, I never thought that my child would be able to publish a book at such a young age. Mrs. Lauren has really motivated my daughter to pursue her creativity. It was an amazing feeling watching her eyes light up every time she was able to sign a book.”
Trahan would like to thank the families as the book signing was a huge success.
“I can’t thank my students and their families enough for their work and support that made this project a complete success,” Trahan concluded. “This is, by far, one of the proudest moments in my career. I’m so proud of my students and their hard work.”
School principal Gregory Dubois also expressed his appreciation for the dedication of Mrs. Trahan and her students to complete this project.
“We are so proud of Mrs. Trahan and her second grade class,” Dubois stated. “Mrs. Trahan saw the creative side of each of her students and wanted to capture this in some form. They worked extremely hard to generate a beautiful work of art that will last for years to come.
“Thankfulness to God for all He does for us reigns deep in the hearts of our students and teachers. That’s what Rayne Catholic is all about.”

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