Hope that you had a good (and potentially tasty) “Pi Day” yesterday!
According to PiDay.org, “With the use of computers, Pi has been calculated to over 1 trillion digits past the decimal. Pi is an irrational and transcendental number meaning it will continue infinitely without repeating.” As many of us learned in middle school, Pi is the ratio between a circle’s diameter and its circumference and thus can be employed to calculate the area of a circle and volume of a rectangular prism. Pi also makes regular appearances in physics, statistics and probability, and calculus.
So if you celebrated with both edible and numerical pie yesterday, consider learning more about our educational nonprofits today — which are improving and supplementing math and technology education for students in our region. Just for some examples:
Passion for Learning (Silver Spring): GRRL Tech (Girls Really, Really Love Technology) engages 45 elementary and middle schoolers in a girl-focused curriculum that teaches computer programming language and web development.
George B. Thomas, Sr Learning Academy (Bethesda): The method? Intensive tutoring in math, reading, and test-taking skills for two and one-half hours at “Saturday School” from October through May.
Jan’s Tutoring House (DC): Tutors offer 60-90 minute, one-on-one dose of undivided attention for all students and the homework and technology centers are open, staffed, and busy on a daily basis.
For Love of Children (DC): In Shaw and Columbia Heights, FLOC offers carefully paced, one-on-one tutoring that brings students to grade-level proficiency in reading and math.
San Miguel Middle School (DC): San Miguel offers a rigorous academic program with a strong focus on math and English, including two math courses every day, and offers additional academic support to prepare young men for college preparatory high school.