A pair of school fundraising efforts is underway in Troy, and early returns are strong.

Troy High School plans to unveil a new, $4,500 sound system for the football field next season. Donations raised $2,500 so far, including $1,000 from Leavitt Great West Insurance Services in Helena.

“We’ve been raising money with the Booster Club and Parent-Teacher Association,” Troy Superintendent Dr. Jacob Francom said. “(Assistant Football Coach) Dallas Carr has spearheaded it all. The system he picked out is cool. I think it was designed for military use. There’s YouTube videos of people lighting it on fire and throwing it down a hill and it still works.”

Maybe Troy could include some NFL-style pyrotechnics during next year’s player introductions.

Troy tykes also received exciting recreation news during Monday’s school board meeting.

Ms. Hana Coy’s second and third grade classes at W.F. Morrison Elementary School raised $500 for a new playground. Construction of the playground is expected to take a couple years and will be completed in stages. School officials hope to raise $15,000 to $20,000 for the new playground. The total estimated cost of the project is $29,520.

“Some of the current equipment is outdated and some of it needs to be removed,” W.F. Morrison Principal Diane Rewerts said. “We are looking to incorporate new equipment for total-body exercise. We are really focused on fitness for the kids.”

Rewerts said her school is transitioning to a structured recess focused on constant play, whether it is with games instructed by the teacher or children running circuits through different exercise stations. The new playground’s compact design optimizes teachers’ ability to monitor children. The current playground’s sparse layout can be challenging for teachers needing to keep an eye on every student.

Dizzying contraptions like a gyro-twister and a blender-spinner are tentatively planned to occupy the new 14,500-square feet woodchip area. Designs also call for a basketball court, tetherball poles and picnic tables. Those interested in donating to the project may have their names engraved into a brick in a proposed retaining wall.

One fitness effort already underway at W.F. Morrison is the newly formed Morrison Milers. Students are invited to walk or run on the track during recess. Teachers record students’ total miles and reward them for the completion of milestone distances. Rewerts said student participation has been high so far.