“3.1415926535897…,” recited South Pasadena Middle School student Krishna Mocherla, and with that won the Pi Recitation contest in the 13th 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 math department of SPMS hosted three events to celebrate the day on Friday, March 13. In the Pi Recitation contest, Krishna was able to recite from memory the first 650 random digits of pi. David Liu took second place with 530 digits and Alyssa Naritoku captured third with 290 digits. Fifteen 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 Nathanael Joseph and math teacher Katy Tran ate two pies in record time, eking out a victory over the team of Shayda Abbasi and teacher Doug Buhler. Andres Perez and principal Dave Kubela took third place. Pies were generously supplied by Wild Thyme of South Pasadena.
In Circle Drawing, students were judged on their ability to draw a perfect circle freehand, given a certain diameter. Ka Cin Wong captured first place with a nearly perfect 6¼ inch circle. Glenda Chen ranked second, and the judges placed Alex Kim third. Each student received a pie from Wild Thyme.
Leadership students Paul Messana-Speakers, Amanda Stewart, Rachel Newhall, Delaney Carter, Josh Martinez-Davis, Ady Friedman, and Sofi Goode, and teachers Dean McCoy, Todd Brown, Lance Pearcy, Paula Warner, and Eric Aispuro judged the contests.
