Honour to the International Day of Mathematics- Senior School

International Day of Mathematics is an annual event celebrated on 14 March, also known as Pi Day, in honour of the mathematical constant pi (π) which is approximately equal to 3.14. The day is dedicated to promoting the importance of mathematics and its applications in everyday life.

At Dulwich College Suzhou, we also organized various activities to celebrate the day. Our students not only have fun doing math games, but also receive good results on math--UKMT! 

The UKMT Intermediate Mathematical Challenge is a 60-minute, multiple-choice Challenge designed to promote a love of problem-solving. It encourages mathematical reasoning, the precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems.

During the Chinese New Year holidays, 50 students from Years 7 to 10 participated in this challenge, along with tens of thousands of students worldwide. 34% of our participants achieved a Gold certificate, which we proudly celebrate. One student has been invited to a follow-up challenge, the Cayley Olympiads: with 1500 students across the globe. We wish Roy B in Year 9 all the best in the next round.

Let’s see what we have done to celebrate the day!

Students competed in three activities to celebrate this day: reciting pi, scavenger hunt and pi in art.

Recite Pi

Pi is an irrational number with digits going on infinitely. Students competed in reciting pi to as many digits as they could. This challenge aimed for students to use mnemonics to group numbers and observe any possible patterns.

Scavenger Hunt

Students worked in groups to solve mathematics problems posted on station cards around the school. This challenge aimed to allow students to collaborate, learn the history of pi, applied pi to problem-solving while having fun.

Pi in Art

Students used pi and geometric constructions to design patterns. This challenge aimed to allow students to use their creativity in Maths. 

International Day of Mathematics is an excellent opportunity to promote the importance of mathematics and its role in shaping our world. It is an occasion to appreciate the contributions of mathematicians and to encourage the next generation of mathematicians to continue pushing the boundaries of the field.

DCSZ is proud of every student who participated in the challenge and looks forward to more celebrations in our future Maths competitions.

The Importance of Pi

By definition, pi (π) is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. In Mathematics, pi is used to calculate the area and circumference of a circle. It is also used to get the value of trigonometry functions like sine, cosine, and tangent.

To commemorate this day, people bake pies as pi helps determine the pie’s size. We can use pi to calculate how much icing we need to frost a round cake. In designing pizza boxes, pi is considered. However, apart from pies and pizzas, pi is applied in other fields, for example:

NASA uses pi to calculate the trajectory of a spacecraft, for measuring craters and learning about asteroid composition.

Pi is found in the DNA structure of the human body, in the rainbow, moon, sun, pupil of the eye and even in falling raindrops.