Students at Davidson Elementary School presented a check for $4,000 to Davidson Public Library officials Wednesday night during the school’s December book fair.

The funds were donated by the Davidson Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization in recognition of the students’ hard work during a month-long reading challenge.  The teachers challenged their classes to read a minimum of 100 books from Nov. 1 to Dec. 3.

As each class met its goal, the PTO purchased an engraved brick to be placed in the new patio outside the Davidson Public Library.

“One of the resources we value most in the community is our public library,” Davidson Elementary Principal Terry Hall said. “We are so thrilled to be able to provide financial support to our local library through an initiative that encourages our children to read.”

Altogether, the students of Davidson Elementary read more than 4,000 books, and each class chose its unique engraving for their brick. Samples of the engraved bricks were displayed during the book fair in the school’s media center. They included messages from each class, such as “Hammer’s Heroes Rock at Reading” from teacher Gabrielle Hammer’s kindergartners.