Weekly Reflections: Celebrating Pi

Each year, the Maths Department takes great pleasure in leading the school’s celebration of Pi Day. Pi Day has its origins in 1988 when physicist Larry Shaw first organized festivities at the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco. The event falls on March 14th, as the digits 3, 1, and 4 correspond to the first three digits of π, which aligns with the date in the American system of writing dates (3/14).

In previous years, the Maths Department has collaborated with other departments to celebrate Pi Day in creative, cross-curricular ways. Our sparky students have written haiku poetry on the theme of Pi, which we published as ‘Pikus’. They've also shown their artistic talents by creating ‘Pi-casso’ masterpieces in partnership with the Art department. Additionally, students invented new species in our ‘Pi-ology’ project with the Science department, using π to guide the evolution and adaptation of these fictional creatures.

This year's theme is Education, and we see it as a perfect opportunity to reflect on the transformative changes in education brought about by advancements in AI technology. AI has vastly reshaped the educational landscape, offering significant opportunities and challenges for both teachers and learners. One thing is certain: AI is here to stay. At our school, we help students understand the benefits and drawbacks of using AI and aim to foster a healthy respect for this dynamic learning tool.

We are excited to announce that this year, the Maths Department is collaborating with Mr. Harvey, who joined us in September as Head of Computer Science. Together, we are challenging students to explore how AI can be used to showcase π in creative ways, and myself and Mr Harvey shared information and ideas with students in the assembly on Monday of this week, along with some suggested AI tools which students could possibly explore and employ. 

A student response to the challenge could take the form of a piece of AI-generated artwork, a story written, and also perhaps illustrated, with AI, a piece of music, or perhaps even a short video. Beyond celebrating the wonder of π, the only requirement is that students clearly identify any and all the ways in which AI was used in their project. We encourage students to experiment with as many different AI technologies as they like, embracing creativity to produce something unique that showcases π in any medium.

We invite entries from all years, whether individual or in small groups. Based on the impressive contributions we’ve received in past years, and knowing the creative, energetic, and innovative nature of our students, both Mr. Harvey and I eagerly look forward to seeing the amazing creations that our students will produce!

Mrs Diana Bolan, Second in Charge of Mathematics