Students won the chance to ‘pie’ eighth-grade teachers, from left, Molly Eisen, Spyridon Mantzas and Jessica Corino. At right, teacher Meghan Colabella and Assistant Principal Kerry Orange-Jones get ‘pied.’
WEST ORANGE — Screams, cheers, clapping, and laughter are not the usual responses to Pi Day, except at Edison Middle School where the emphasis was on fun as well as learning.
On March 13, students gathered for the annual Pi assembly, where students recited digits of Pi and got to build pies on the heads of Principal Steve Melendez, Assistant Principal Keri Orange-Jones, and other faculty members.
The event was organized by teachers Nicole Shipitofsky and Christina Ferinde.
Pi Day was begun in 1988 by physicist Larry Shaw at the Exploratorium in San Francisco and created to bring staff and students together to celebrate the mathematical number 3.14, or “Pi,” and math in general. Pi is an irrational, infinite number that represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.
Students participated in quarter and semi-final rounds in class to determine the finalists for Pi recitation: Xavier Mendez, Avery Mercer, Kevin Castanda, Sidra Doftani, Stanley Jamison, Shiv Jani, and Amy Leon recited digits of Pi to a cheering crowd.
The winners were:
First Place: Sidra Doftani with 351 digits.
Second Place: Avery Mercer with 125 digits.
Third Place: Amy Leon with 109 digits.
Pie-making atop the teachers’ head then began, raising the decibel of noisy cheering to an all-time high.
Tickets were sold to the event, with the top winners getting the chance to pie their teachers. The event raised $150 and the proceeds were donated to the Holy Trinity West Orange Food Pantry.
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