Effingham County High School freshman Landon Snooks and science teacher/coach Wayne Munch are making some very special vacation plans after learning that they were lucky winners of the high school’s second semester prize give-a-ways.

Snooks won the Disney trip for four, valued at $1,600. It includes a three-night stay at Disney World in Orlando and four-day park hopper passes. Munch won the five- to six-day Bahamas’ cruise for two.

According to ECHS attendance officer and prize program coordinator Cathy Zipperer, this is the first year the school has offered prizes as an incentive for students to be in school every day, make good grades, stay out of trouble and participate as active students with exemplary behavior. School employees earned their chances for prizes by having perfect attendance for two consecutive weeks, participating as a volunteer or advisor, writing articles for the newspaper and numerous other “above and beyond” efforts. All students and all ECHS employees had the opportunity to earn tickets on a daily basis, although some were earned once per nine weeks.

Snooks earned several tickets for perfect attendance (every two weeks in a row), maintaining a 97 GPA for the second semester, playing baseball and being active in the Fellowship of Christian Students, YAC and InterAct Club. He also received tickets when teachers nominated him for outstanding behavior in and out of the classroom.

Employees kept track of their own opportunities to earn tickets by using a tally sheet which included activities such as: covered 20 minutes or more of a class for another teacher; volunteered at an extra-curricular activity; participated in the ECHS mentor program; tutored students after school; sponsored a student of the week for their classroom or department; and attended an extra-curricular activity.

Zipperer said the students and employees were responsible for claiming their tickets in order to have them entered in the drawing.

Prizes for each of the giveaways were purchased with funds the school collected from the purchase of student parking passes.

“Mr. Ford has been very gracious to allow us to use this money as an incentive for students and employees,” Zipperer said.

At the end of the first semester, two 60-inch, flat-screen TVs were given away along with about 25 other prizes, including stereos, MP3 players and CDs. Sophomore Jacob Lanier was the student winner and science teacher Brooke Whitlock was the employee winner.

ECHS plans to continue the incentive program next year.