Students at Sinarmas World Academy (SWA) held a mathematics-themed event as a celebration of World Pi (𝝿) Day, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant Pi (𝝿) which is celebrated every year on 14 March.
Participating since 2016, World Pi Day has become very special for SWA’s students with the series of events not only relating to math calculations and formulas but also becoming a platform for interesting and exciting activities where students could explore mathematics in a fun way. The activities including The Git Up Line Dance Competition, Math Sprint, Nim Toothpick Game and SWA's Pi Digit Memoriser were established to attract students to learn more about mathematics.
Most likely, mathematics is not everyone’s favourite but there is something fundamental that students need to know about mathematics, especially in academic life. According to the 2018 OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the mathematical abilities of Indonesian students are among the lowest in the world, ranking 75 out of 81 countries.
In pursuit of developing knowledge in mathematics, the school strives to improve the abilities of their students. One of them is through a curriculum that teaches not only concepts and theories but also the application of knowledge where students are invited to see the lesson from a different perspective.
"When students see the real function of the knowledge they learn in school, then they will be more motivated to learn. We expect the younger generation to be able to learn with purpose, not solely for values," said Hayden, one of the tutors at SWA.
David Shane Goh, a 9th-grade SWA student, winner of 3 Gold Medals and the Overall Championship Cup at the 2019 International Youth Mathematics Olympiad (ITMO) said that a pleasant learning environment and excitement with friends and teachers in learning mathematics gave him more motivation.
"Basically, all science contains elements of mathematics, unfortunately, many people think that mathematics is difficult and boring without knowing the excitement. Through this activity, we hope that more and more people will be interested and can enjoy the thrill of the world of mathematics," explained William Kim, 11th-grade student, as the organizer of the Pi Day at SWA.
For more information about Sinarmas World Academy, visit the official website on swa-jkt.com
