Citrus High School pulled out all the stops when they held their annual Pi Day last Friday.  So, what’s so great about Pi?  Pi is an irrational number with an infinite number of digits to the right of the decimal point.  The digits extend to infinity with no repetition and no pattern.  Pi is the ratio of the circumference of any circle to its diameter.  Because 3.14 is an approximation of Pi that is commonly used in calculations, math lovers everywhere celebrate this special number every year on 3/14.  This year, 3/14 landed on the weekend, but that didn’t stop the staff and students at Citrus High from celebrating all things Pi.

Naturally, as with any good Pi Day celebration, there was pie.  But the fun didn't stop there.  A DJ played Pi songs during brunch, including one which was written and performed by student Fernando Sanchez who goes by the artist name Hypnotized), Pi art, Pi student-made videos, Pi face painting and campus-wide decorating with posters, chalk and window paint.

There was even a memorization contest, with student Anthony Jones reciting 250 digits.  He said his goal was to surpass last year’s winner who memorized 120 digits.  “I just looked for patterns,” he said, “and then wrote them down over and over.”

Math Teacher Melissa Ulibarri, the force behind the school’s Pi-mania, kept the excitement going throughout the week with daily trivia questions.  Even students who weren’t in her class wanted to participate.  “I considered not doing Pi Day this year; organizing it is a lot of work.  Both the boys' and girls' softball teams were going to be gone on Friday.  But when people heard there might not be a Pi Day they were adamant that they wanted it.  They really look forward to it.  Not just the staff and students, parents too.  One parent even made a Pi piñata.”

Principal Eric Groeber agreed that Pi Day was an eagerly anticipated Citrus High School tradition.  “We all look forward to it.  The staff and students really get into it.  It’s great for morale!”

So, what do you get when you take the sun and divide the circumference by the diameter?  Why, Pi in the sky, of course.

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