Parents and students of all ages participate in Math Family Game Night for Pi Day
Saint Francis Xavier (SFX) Catholic School students and their families came back to campus after school on Thursday to celebrate Pi Day with pizza, fun math games, and prizes.
Pi is a mathematical constant equal to the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Though the number can go on forever, its first three digits are 3.14, thereby making March 14 “Pi Day.”
Participating students first arrived in the Parish Hall for pizza and moon pies. Students then went with their families back to the school to participate in a variety of math games set up by the teachers.
Art and STEAM teacher Ms. Patty Rudnicke helped students build their own Fibonacci sequence using k’nex. The Fibonacci sequence receives its name from the Italian mathematician Fibonacci but has been known to mathematicians in India since as early as 200 B.C.
It is a mathematical sequence in which each number is equal to the sum of the two preceding numbers. It can be used to create a Fibonacci spiral, which can be found in both art and nature.
Ms. Emily Holt’s Kindergarten classroom had math games for younger students, including number match games, pattern blocks, and more.
SFX music teacher Ms. Erin Ludwick had music-themed math games for all ages such as mathematical musical chairs and sound stepping stones.
SFX fourth-grade teacher Ms. Nancy Rohling hosted the “4 Color Theorem” challenge in which students were given puzzles and tasked with coloring spaces using only four colors without any spaces of the same color touching.
Latin teacher Ms. Katie Phillips provided math-themed crochet challenges.
These are only a few examples of the many game options that were available for attendees.
Each classroom also had door prizes for students who estimated how many objects were in a jar. Winners received pies made by parishioners, staff, and local businesses.
Along with language, number is a core component of SFX School’s curriculum. SFX School students are not only encouraged to become familiar with numbers and how they work, but also experience mathematical laws as evidence of the order God provides for His creation.
Saint Francis Xavier Catholic School is an accredited classical Catholic PreK-8 school in Birmingham’s Crestline neighborhood that uses the time-tested Catholic Intellectual Tradition to form students in virtue through the pursuit of academic excellence and service toward God and neighbor.
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