“3.14159265358979323846 2643383279502884197169399375105820974944
5923078164062862089986280348253421170679821480865132823066470938446095 50582231725359408128481117450284102701938521105559,” recited South Pasadena Middle School student Krishna Mocherla, and with that won the Pi Recitation contest in the 10th Annual Pi Day celebration.
Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. March 14 is recognized internationally as Pi Day, since 3.14 both begins the number pi and abbreviates the date.
The leadership class and math department of SPMS hosted three events to celebrate the day. In the Pi Recitation contest, Krishna was able to recite from memory the first 226 random digits of pi. David Liu took second place with 220 digits and Candace Chen captured third with 156 digits. Twenty students memorized 25 or more digits and each was awarded a small pie, courtesy of Jim’s Bakery in Monterey Park.
In the Pie Eating contest, the team of student Imaad Ali and teacher Doug Buhler ate two pies in record time, eking out a victory over the team of Chelsea Reynolds and teacher Matt Stahl. Max Wayne and teacher Andrew Adanto took third place. Pies were generously supplied by Wild Thyme.
In Circle Drawing, students were judged on their ability to draw a perfect circle freehand, given a certain diameter. Melody Sue captured first place with a nearly perfect 7-inch circle. Chloe Acebo ranked second, and the judges placed Raven Juergensen third. Each student received a pie from Wild Thyme.
Leadership students Michelle Lam, Brianna Loo, Aashrita Mangu, Joey Goode, Jon Weiner, Gloria Kim, and Melissa Chan and teachers Todd Brown, Dean McCoy, and Paula Warner judged the contests. Eighth graders Ivan Pyzow and Cole Rainey gave a running commentary throughout the lunch time activities. The four SPMS students that were born on March 14 each received a small pie as the chorus sang Happy Birthday.
