MONROE — Most children’s stories about hard work that pays off involve touchdowns, straight A’s or moral satisfaction.

For five Monroe Middle School students, hard work in the classroom paid off with cash — $1,400 apiece.

The students — seventh-graders Chloe Cory, Isabel Cain, Kylie Armstrong and Andie Walton, and eighth-grader Zach Reynolds — won the Lexus Eco Challenge, a contest that challenges middle and high school students to develop projects that help preserve either land, air or water.

Their team, called “Water Babies,” was among 16 teams that won $10,000 each for their effort.

“I was thinking of cash,” Zach said, recalling the day he found out he won. “It was crazy. I was like, ‘So we win $1,400 each.’ It was pretty cool.”

Teacher Robin Oestreich assigned the students in her Global Action class to break into groups and create projects aimed at protecting water. She had read about the Lexus Eco Challenge in Scholastic magazine and wanted to submit her students’ projects in the contest.

“It was a perfect fit for the class,” she said. “The class was supposed to be about taking action around the globe.”

The Water Babies developed a project around saving Puget Sound. They launched a Web site, http://saveourpugetsound.webs.com, complete with a YouTube video they created and professional videos by People for Puget Sound. The site features pollution statistics, information on red tides of toxic algae and ideas on how to help clean up Puget Sound.

The students also hosted four cleanup events on the Snohomish River. They plucked trash from the banks of the river with other volunteers on cold winter days.

“Before I didn’t really know how much was polluted,” Kylie said. “I didn’t really care as much. When I started doing this, I found out all the facts and I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s really polluted.’ “

The road to victory wasn’t smooth for the Water Babies.

They had to work through personality conflicts and setbacks. Zach lost a slideshow and had to redo it. The group also lost a flash drive and scrambled to retype fliers and information for the Web site on the day the project was due.

A few weeks ago, while visiting family in California, Oestreich received an e-mail from Lexus informing her that the Water Babies team was a winner in the Eco Challenge. The next day, she flew back to Washington and told her students.

“I was excited and I was shocked,” Chloe said. “I thought we could win. I knew we had a shot and stuff, but at the same time, I didn’t know.”

As part of the prize, Monroe Middle School gets $2,000, Oestreich receives $1,000 for classroom expenses, and the students split the remaining $7,000.

Some of the Water Babies earn money doing chores or baby-sitting, but none has ever had $1,400 to blow or save.

Though they still are waiting for their checks to arrive, the students already know how they’re spending their money.

Andie is spending $150 on clothes from Hollister and an iPod. The rest is going toward college.

Kylie is spending her money to go on a cruise to Mexico with a friend’s family. She’s never been out of the country and is excited for the opportunity.

Chloe is going on a $100 shopping spree and putting the rest in a college fund.

Isabel is putting $1,000 in the bank and spending the rest on an iPod.

Zach wants to buy a BMX trick bike. The 13-year-old has also been looking for a ‘67 Mustang Fastback. He found one in Minnesota painted like the car in “Gone in 60 Seconds,” but he said his dad won’t take him to pick it up.

They’re relishing their winnings now, but soon it’s back to work. Along with the other finalists from the air, water and land competitions, they’re invited to compete in “The Final Challenge.” Details haven’t been released yet, but since Global Action is over for the semester, the team is already planning to meet after school or on weekends.

The goal: the grand prize of $50,000.