Pi Night adds up to a fun celebration of learning for it’s own sake, as kids and teachers alike explore the joys of math.

By Harry Kane

Pi Night is celebrated annually at elementary schools in Somerville to reinforce mathematics in a fun and challenging atmosphere.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics defines Pi as “the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.” Pi equals 3.14.

The Somerville Mathematics Fund sponsors the evening of Pi-related math activities. This year the event took place on March 16 at the Healey School.

Erica Voolich is the founder of the Mathematics fund in Somerville. Their goal is to celebrate and encourage mathematic achievement. “When we started in 2003 there were 3 teachers that got together and planned it. Over the years we have revised it,” said Voolich.

Pi day is an event to celebrate Pi and help kids with in estimation, problem solving and collecting data. Some of the activities include a guessing contest to determine how many objects are in a jar, predicting the levels of liquid in cylinders and drawing perfect circles.

At one table an adult volunteer, Elaine Lee, oversaw the table where kids tried to guess how many items were in the jars. “I dunno if anyone gets the exact guesses but we get some pretty close guesses every year,” said Lee.

There are teachers that have started to celebrate Pi all across the country, says Voolich. Pi day was technically on March 14.

Alex Feldman is a parent who feels strongly about the Pi night event. “I’m really glad because they are trying to get kids to think that math doesn’t have to be just worksheets; it can be games and fun. And I like the fact that Erica is trying to build up a momentum so that kids will see math as having so many other qualities.”

Wilhem Jacques, is a 7th and 8th grade math teacher of Haitian descent at the Healey School. He prepares the students a few days in advance, he says, but for the most part Pi is in the curriculum already, so there isn’t a lot to prepare for. “We do some songs about Pi; that’s why it takes a couple of days.”

Around 100 kids participated in the event. Some won pies at the end of the night for their mathematic skills.  And, high school kids volunteered to make the night a success.

Steven Lamisere, 15, volunteered at Pi night.  He’s a sophomore, and he used to attend Pi night in elementary school. “We see how it applies to the world, and all that.” He helps the younger kids, sets up the activity tables and explains the rules. The younger kids get an activity sheet with a list of the events offered at the numerous stations. “I feel kinda great knowing I’m doing something: giving back to the kids.”