Mahopac Middle School students joined in the excitement of Pi Day, a day celebrated annually on March 14, with a weeklong celebration packed with fun and educational activities. Pi Day is dedicated to the irrational number that represents the relationship between a circle’s circumference and diameter, and it’s used to calculate a variety of geometric properties.
Organized by math teachers Morissa Townsend and Marie DeNicola with assistance from Kelly Kischak, Dorothy Myler and Camryn Shilling, the celebration also featured a food drive from March 10-14, benefiting the CAP organization. For each food item donated, students were entered into daily raffles for a chance to win exciting prizes making giving back to the community even more rewarding.
“Pi Day is not just about math, it’s a chance to engage our students in a fun and meaningful way, while giving back to our community,” Townsend said. “Seeing the students excited to learn and participate in these activities really brought the whole school together.”
The excitement continued with a special celebration hosted by DeNicola and Kischak for their 7A students. During math class, students dove into the whimsical story of “Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi,” enjoyed Pi-themed circle treats and completed an engaging webquest. One of the day’s highlights was the Pi Challenge, where 34 students successfully memorized 25 digits of Pi, earning a future pie and ice cream party.
The learning didn’t stop there. Math and science students had multiple opportunities to deepen their understanding of Pi and lunar eclipses. Activities ranged from creating Pi- and eclipse-inspired artwork to researching how NASA uses Pi in space exploration. Students also got hands-on experience building models to visualize the alignment of the Earth, moon and sun during an eclipse, while others completed a digital lunar breakout challenge. The activities allowed students to explore these fascinating topics in creative and interactive ways.
The week culminated in a buildingwide Pi Day scavenger hunt as students searched for miniature ducks hidden around the school. Each duck featured a fun Pi Day fact, and if students found one, they were able to turn it in for a prize.
