We All Loved Math (and Still Do)!
Students approached the problems with great enthusiasm and creativity. An Eighth Grade team created puzzle pieces to illustrate a visual proof of the Pythagorean Theorem (above). Other teams created posters and videos. One team inserted a digital animation to show how the pieces move on a fixed square to create the proof. Some ambitious teams found more than one proof.
One of the problems involved Three Brothers and 21 Oak Casks (the problem is reprinted in our older posts). The solutions created lots of opportunity for students to show their thinking. This poster from a Seventh Grade team shows how the casks can be divided so each of the three brothers is treated fairly. Another Seventh Grade team created a 3-D stage set with 21 casks so they could "act out" their answer.
Here is another beautiful demonstration of the Pythagorean Theorem (a Seventh Grade Team.)
Four panelists from very different backgrounds discussed the impact of math on their lives and careers.
Erin Bellissimo spoke of how she uses math to help people make spending and investment decisions, Steven Orlofsky spoke of how math is used in legal matters to prove or disprove cases, and Gene Schmidt spoke of the deep connectedness between art, math and God. Then they were joined by none other than Pythagoras, complete with a set of triangles, who was quite interested in watching middle school students prove his theorem.
Student teams were celebrated for their astonishing achievements in their mathematical work.
Congratulations to all of the Upper School student for their hard work...and for loving math!
