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Middle and Primary School Math Department | Dance of Wisdom: Hanoi Tower and Creative Motto for Pi Day Pre-event

March 21, 2024

As Pi Day approaches, the Middle School math teachers organized a unique warm-up activity on March 8th to add a splash of color to this special day.

The event started with a poetic expression of mathematical aphorisms. This year's theme was "Math, Philosophy, Life." Students observed, reflected, and expressed their mathematical insights, inspirations, or moments of wonder through the use of math aphorisms. Their motto could be a powerful quote students found in a book or movie, a lamentation about a mathematical formula, or a personal reflection inspired by a phenomenon observed in everyday life.

Math is everywhere, and these aphorisms, though a simple sentence or two, are four-fold and implore unique understanding and emotional resonance for students. The culmination of the activity was the writing of these maxims on paper, forming a flying dragon that symbolizes the endless power of mathematics. The best entries will be selected to be displayed on campus in the form of scale stickers, adding a touch of artistry to the Pi Day festivities.

In addition, the 7th grade hosted a unique interschool Hanoi Tower competition. Hanoi Tower is a puzzle toy that originated from an ancient Indian legend. It is not only a competition, but also a feast that challenges logical intelligence and spatial imagination. The students actively practiced and learned from one other before preparing for the competition, and observed and learned the math knowledge implied in the operation: if there are n discs (n≥3), then the minimum number of operations is 2 to the nth power minus 1. Through the competition, the students could get up close and personal with Hanoi Towers, experience its fun, and exercise patience, logical thinking, and spatial memory.

This pre-event not only ignited students' love of math but also allowed them to appreciate the wonders of the game. In the upcoming Pi Celebration Day, they will embrace the fascination of math and explore its infinite possibilities with even more enthusiasm.

(Written by Wei Xu Pictures by Wei Xu Edited by Cong Luo, Bianca Noguera)