March 2026 - Math Department Pi Day
Friday, the 13th, the entire math department celebrated Pi Day at our Jack Mashin Stadium. The Thursday bulletin urged, “Mathematicians of East County! Get ready! Tomorrow is your day! Have you been memorizing as many digits of pi possible? We knew it! Are you ready to dominate in the 31.4 yd dash? Start stretching. Ever wondered what the circumference of our track is? Come find out at pi day tomorrow during your math class!”
Students working with Mr. Heubach to estimate the area_circumference of the track
Students making a human chain to measure the diameter of a circle and seeing how many diameters it takes to wrap around a full circle (3.14!)
Group photo in the shape of the greek letter Pi
On Friday, Periods 1-7, students engaged in activities to reinforce Pi and celebrated math:
- Using tape measures, the student group measured the radius of the field’s end zone to estimate the area of that part of the track.
- Using tape measures, the student group measured part of the perimeter of the end zone/goal area and divided by the diameter to get as close to as possible. OR Measured the radius/diameter to see if they could guess the perimeter of the whole track!
- Students met in the center of the field and joined hands to find the diameter of the G in human units. Then, they saw how many times they need to wrap their human chain around the outside to complete the circle.
- Art with Pi activities included Skylines with Pi, Pi Coloring, Pi Paper Plate Banner.
- G 31.4 yd dash: Students met under the field goal posts in the end zone to compete in 31.4 yd dash heats.
- Students joined Mrs. LoPrell at the mic to memorize and recite as many digits of pi as they could.
- At the end of each period, all students and staff gathered in the center of the field to take a group pi picture.
- Finally, students traded their stamped cards proving their participation in at least one of our stations to receive an individually wrapped pie to eat.
Afterwards, Kristen LoPrell reflected, “We had a very successful day! It was HOT, but students had a great time. We are grateful that our families donated so many pies to make the day possible.”
Several students shared their experiences:
Kennedy Moe: "It was an amazing time! I liked finding the area and circumference of the end of the track!"
Jonah Yost: "It was open to everybody and super inclusive. My favorite part was linking arms in the human chain."
Constantinos Dolias: "I thought it was incredible! The human chain was really cool; I actually didn't know that it takes 3.14 diameters to make the circumference."
Torin Sotello: "It was really fun “dusting” my classmates (leaving them in the dust) in the 10 pi yard dash.")
Acting GHS Principal Brianne Froumis shared, “Thank you to the department and your leadership for organizing this day. Kids had a blast! Even with the heat, the energy was great.”
Departing Principal Dan Barnes celebrated, “Great job on this. I love it when we build community like this.”
Visit the GHS Museum Saturday, 10-1 May 30th or Fridays by appointment: