WEST ORANGE, NJ – For the past several years, Math teachers at Edison Middle School have been able to engage students so successfully in researching Pi that they were cheering and clapping with joy during the annual Pi assembly.
It took three months of careful planning on the part of Math Club advisors and teachers Nicole Shipitofsky and Christina Ferinde, and the rest of the Math faculty team. Students from each team took on the daunting task of memorizing the successive digits of Pi for an onstage competition, with Zahara Tudor coming in first place with 258 digits, Student* taking second with 201, and Nola Auzenne placing third with 128. The winners received gift cards.
A few weeks prior, raffle tickets were sold for the highlight of the Pi assembly: building "pies" on teachers' heads. Students selling the most raffle tickets on each team were able to “pie” their teachers onstage with apple pie filling, graham cracker crumbs, and whipped cream. It was hard to tell who was having a better time: the students pieing the teachers, the teachers pieing each other, or the students in the audience. Guidance Counselor Jeff Lafoon, Assistant Principal Dr. Keri Orange-Jones, and Principal Steve Melendez even got in on the act, with the winners of the Pi memorization challenge getting the honors of creating a pie atop their heads.
“Pi Day is a celebration we all look forward to at Edison Middle School,” began Shipitofsky.
“It took three months of planning and preparation to put the event together. The point of the day is for the students to have a celebration by engaging in the contest, supporting one another, and cheering for each other’s successes,” she continued.
“One reason this is all made possible is because of the support we receive from our administrators and teachers who helped to hype the students up by sharing their past experiences. For years to come, we will continue to have this fun and pie-filled day with the students,” she concluded.
All the money collected, totaling $375, was donated to the Holy Trinity-West Orange Food Pantry.
See photos from Pi Day HERE.
Nicole Shipitofsky and Christina Ferinde
Pi Day Memorization Finalists
Green Team
Nola Auzenne
Abigail Tadesse
Gray Team
Zahara Tudor
Student
Yellow Team
Eyram Tsedze
Amanda Merilus
Green Team Math Teachers:
Floyd Gray
Magdalena Almeida
Erika DeVos
Gray Team Math Teachers:
Jessica Byrne
Kevin Wilton
Yellow Team Math Teachers:
Wioletta Baluta
Eric Mains
Kim Jackson
Math Academic Support Teachers:
Christina Ferinde
Jessica Corino
Math Club Advisors:
Christina Ferinde
Nicole Shipitofsky
Picture order: Left to Right
Amanda Merilus, Eyram Tsedze, Student*, Zahara Tudor, Abigail Tadesse and Nola Auzenne
Students who pied teachers:
- Green Team:
- Kennedy Sims- Ms. Grochowski
- Jennifer Sangolqui- Ms. Ferinde
- Student*- Mr. Mantzas
- Gray Team:
- Omari Thompson- Mrs. Romanchuk
- Taylor Spikes- Mrs. Bryne
- Jackson Slattery- Mr. Rocco
- Yellow Team:
- Damon Lawson- Mrs. McEntee
- Jayden Tineo- Mrs. Kaiser
- Rachel Allen- Mr. Carrera
* Student does not have a Media Release Form
