Pi Day is an important day in the history of Maths and was recently celebrated by Secondary students at Gubei Campus through learning about Maths and eating pie. The students met by year level in the cafeteria, and after a short speech from the Maths Department, they were given free range to sample pies baked by their peers in an attempt to determine the tastiest winner. Following the pie eating, the students sat down to learn about Science and History behind why Pi Day is important.

Pi (π) is an irrational number that represents the ratio of a circles circumference to its diameter, making it essential for mathematic calculations of circles, spheres, and other rounded objects. While it goes on indefinitely, for simplicity sake, it is often shortened to “3.14”. As March 14 also shares the same abbreviation, Maths is made fun by celebrating on this day with one of the world’s favourite rounded snacks, the pie.

March 14 is even more special to the Maths and Sciences because it also happens to be the birthday of one of the field’s greatest minds, Albert Einstein. On Pi Day, YCIS students learnt more about Einstein through questions in an interactive quiz.

Furthermore, quite a bit of Maths is involved in baking the perfect pastry, and several students showed a real mastery for the craft. From chocolate and cream, to oreos and banana, and even pies for those who prefer savory over sweet, an array of every kind of piecrust, filling, and topping imaginable was used by the creative students to make their pies.

This year’s Pi Day is also one of particular historic significance. On 3/14/15 at 9:26:53, the first 10 digits of this special number will uniquely align—a phenomenon that won’t happen for another hundred years.

An interactive approach to Maths and Science is just one part of the well-rounded international curriculum YCIS offers. To learn more about Secondary programmes at YCIS, click here.