Calculus students celebrate Pi Day by eating pie, singing, earning extra credit

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March 14 (3/14) bears an affectionate distinction in the world of mathematics: it is known as "Pi Day". Although last year was known as the "epic Pi Day" since at 9:26.53 the time and date represented the first ten digits of the irrational number used in conjunction with circles (3.141592653), that did not quash the celebration in AP Calculus classes.

Mr. John Achille, calculus teacher, holds an annual celebration that includes singing, coloring, receiving class t-shirts, and -- of course -- eating pie that students bake (or buy, for those less adventurous).
Period two AP calculus students don their brand new class t-shirts in celebration of Pi Day;
 clockwise from back L: Mr. Achille, Josh Beiler, Tyler Thomas, Evan King, Caleb Danehower,
Jessie Reynolds, Ashley Zehr, Mikayla Benning, and Bri Garber

Students welcome the one-day break from course content in what can be a grueling full-year course that plods towards the AP national exam in May. 

"Pi day was a fun-filled day that included singing 'pi carols', completing extra credit opportunities, and, of course, eating delicious pie! It was nice to have a day off from calculus to celebrate the so-called 'holiday'," says Jessie Reynolds, a senior in one of L-S's two sections of AP calculus.

Tomorrow, it will undoubtedly be back to the grind for Mr. Achille's beloved "AP calc-ers". It is worth noting that despite the annual one-day digression, L-S students have historically scored exceptionally well on the national exam; in 2015, of 30 test takers, all received at least a "3", and 50% scored a "5", which only 21% of students nationally received.

--Benjamin Pontz, LSNews.org Editor-In-Chief

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