Valeria Laitinen, Elementary School Vice Principal, Faculty

"This past week, ACS Athens fourth and fifth-grade students and teachers rekindled their friendship with renowned children's book author Patricia Lakin. 

Ms. Lakin first visited ACS Athens in person in October 2019 to share her experience as a writer of children's books, and her visit was extremely well-received. 

Undeterred by the current difficulties with international travel, Ms. Lakin "met" with our fourth and fifth-grade students via Zoom. 

She took our elementary school writers through the research, writing, editing, revising, and publishing process she used to produce her latest non-fiction book on guitars, which is part of her "Made by Hand" series. 

ACS Athens students, who spent library time researching Ms. Lakin's work, enjoyed reconnecting with Ms. Lakin and asked numerous questions following her two presentations, including asking for tips on drawing inspiration for writing and how to get unstuck on a topic. 

One student even offered to illustrate her books. Ms. Lakin kindly offered to answer any questions, and students were invited to include their queries in letters, which she promised to answer. 

Our students' presentations were inspiring and engaging, and we look forward to continuing our friendship with Ms. Lakin!"