Pi Day 2023 Flyer

On Wednesday, March 13th, Lake Superior State University hosted their annual 𝝅 day competition, in collaboration with the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District and the EUP STEM Region.  A total of 120 middle and high school students were registered for the event, with participating schools including DeTour, Pickford, JKL Bahweting, Sault Area Middle School, and Onaway.

Participating students work together in teams of five to solve a host of challenging mathematical problems, eat pie, and are served lunch on campus.  The goals of 𝝅 day at LSSU is to give students the opportunity to have fun with math while using teamwork and problem solving skills. The rounds of problems also give students insight into how math is used in various careers and fields of expertise.  For example, Leisa Mansfield of State Farm Insurance worked with Barb Light of LSSU to develop a series of competition questions related to the insurance industry and the team who won that round received prizes donated by State Farm Insurance. Another series of problems were sponsored by LSSU’s Center for Freshwater Research and Education and the problems were all taken from contexts dealing with fisheries and wildlife management.  These experiences not only engage students in math, but also answer the question of “when will I use this?”

High School Results

1st place: Onaway High School

Team Name: Mathematical  𝝅-rates

Team Members: Jesus Galvez, Matthew Grant, Britney Buczkowski, Madison Brilley, and Blake Decker  

Middle School Results

1st place: JKL Bahweting

Team Name:  The Irrationals

Team Members:  Julie Innerebner, Ava Donmyer, Laura Krans, Callie Lahti, Abbie Church and Brent Akridge