March 14, whose numeral date is 3/14, isn’t just any normal day at Grosse Pointe South; it is Pi Day, and Mu Alpha Theta celebrates tradition. A table is topped with games to participate in, allowing students to show off their knowledge and creativity in the world of pi, 3.14.
However, before any of the fun can begin, Mu Alpha Theta, South’s math club, must do some preparation. They are not spending time getting ready for math con or other competitions; rather, they are focusing on planning this yearly event. President of the club Bella Leonard ’24 said how the group is always super helpful during the preparation.
“As there are prizes for the winners of the games that are played by students, we need to do some sort of fundraising prior to the big day,” Leonard said. “We also plan and assign members of the club to run the table during lunch.”
As the advisor of Mu Alpha Theta, Alexa McConagy said she will go out and purchase pies as an award for the winners of the competitions, judged fairly by English teacher Harry Campion. Some may wonder why an English teacher is the judge for a math event, and this is because a “Pi Kou” is involved.
“Instead of doing a typical Haiku where there are five, seven then five syllables, it is done by doing three, one then four syllables for 3.14 as that is the number for pi,” McConagy said. “This competition is definitely a fan favorite and I am always impressed with the creativity students have.”
The two other games include guessing how many paper clips are in a jar as well as competing to see how many digits of pi can be written down in 30 seconds. Lucy Fry ’24, a member of Mu Alpha Theta, said there have been kids who have written down somewhere around 65 digits in only that short amount of time.
“Pi day gives us the excuse to go out in the South community and present them with an assortment of games where you have to use brain power,” Fry said. “It is always so fun to see classmates cheering each other on as they race the clock and display what they know.
