Math classes were filled with a mix of pies and pis throughout the day. Impatient students waited all day to eat pie. Although Pi Day actually falls on Saturday, March 14, CHS students and teachers made sure not to skip the annual celebration and instead celebrated on Friday, March 13.
Last year and the previous year, the Pi Day celebration was held during lunch with many activities. These included a pie buffet in the hallways, a taste-testing contest and a 3.14-kilometer walk. But this year, due to the lack of teacher contracts, the Pi Day celebrations looked different. Instead of happening during lunch on Friday the 13th, the math department decided to do pi-related activities in class.
Sophomore Anneliese Ledbetter is in Constance Parker’s Algebra II class. She supports the math department’s decision to move the celebration to in-class events. She feels that this way, CHS can continue to do Pi Day traditions while supporting teachers
“I think teachers should be paid a fair amount and that they shouldn’t have to protest by only working to contract to actually have a contract,” Ledbetter said. “I think teachers should have contracts that pay them fairly.”
The math department’s decision to make the change was due to the protest for fair contracts. Not working during their unpaid lunch break created the need to shift how and where they celebrate Pi Day.
Last year, senior Tia Cocciolone won the pie contest with her mixed berry pie, including blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. This year, it depended on the class and how many people brought pies. Parker, instead of having a contest, planned to bring around eight to nine pies for her students to feast on. Along with the pie, she plans to have a special guest come to her class.
“My mother is going to be coming, and she is going to read a story,” Parker said. “I have a children’s book about pie that I think she might read, but she also might choose her own story instead.”
Pi Day is just one way to bring the CHS community together; sharing and tasting different pies is a great way to bond. Ledbetter is most excited about eating pie with her friends in her math class because it reminds her of a time she made pie with her brother.
“I remember that the pie I made was really bad and soggy,” Ledbetter said when referencing last year’s celebration. “But it got all the way eaten, and the pie my brother made, which was really good, did not. So, therefore, my pie was better than his.”
Stories like Ledbetter’s and her brother’s are just two of the many that get created on Pi Day here at CHS. Each year, more memories are made as pies are baked. And, throughout the day’s pie tastings and miscellaneous celebrations planned by teachers, this year’s celebration was no exception.
