Have a Pi Day and Other Fun Ways to Recognize 3.14
We will celebrate Pi Day on Friday, March 14. In an interesting coincidence, I pointed out to students at the Assembly that the time span between Monday Assembly and Pi Day this year was roughly 3 days, 14 hours. Looking for random ways like that to recognize the mathematical constant is one of the fun things we do annually to celebrate 3.14.
I also shared some basics for our younger students. I explained that pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, with the diameter being the distance between one edge of the circle to the other and the circumference being the distance around the circle. Pi is a constant number, meaning for any circle of any size, the ratio will always be the same.”
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People have identified that the distance around a circle is just a little more than 3 times the circle’s width for as long as we have recorded history. In the third century BCE, the Greek mathematician Archimedes used many-sided polygons to approximate circles to prove that pi was roughly 22/7. The Greek letter that we now use for the constant was first introduced by Welsh mathematician William Jones in 1706 and has been used ever since.
I suggested to students that if they wanted to try something really cool at home this week, they should try writing 3.14 in large letters on a piece of paper and holding it up to a mirror and check out what it spells.
Some time ago, I misspoke and incorrectly referred to pi as the golden ratio. Our seventh graders were listening well and wrote me letters on Tuesday thoughtfully explaining that the golden ratio describes a different mathematical relationship represented by the Greek letter phi. I loved being “caught” like this on many levels! Students were listening carefully and they are sharp enough mathematicians to explain why pi is not the golden ratio.
Given that we are celebrating our Spotlight on Music this month, I thought a little pi-inspired music to end our morning was in order. I played musician Michael John Blake’s piece, “What Pi Sounds Like,” for everyone and as we sat in silence we reflected on mathematician David Chudnovsky’s quote: "Exploring pi is like exploring the universe."
Enjoy exploring the universe this week on Pi Day!
Brad Weaver, Ed.D
Head of School
Head of School
Sonoma Country Day School
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The premier, fully accredited, independent TK-8 college preparatory school in Sonoma County. Located in northern Santa Rosa and proud home of The Jackson Theater, SCDS offers a challenging academic program rich in fine and performing arts, music, world languages, and social and emotional learning. For more than thirty years SCDS has been the school that brings learning to life.
