WASHINGTON — If you're a D.C. Public Schools teacher or student, Pi Day is worth celebrating.
The unofficial holiday Sunday falls on March 14 every year because the numerical date (3/14) matches the first few digits of the number Pi (3.14).
Pi, written as the Greek letter π, is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. The number is calculated by dividing any circle's circumference by its diameter.
Special days like these are helping D.C. Public Schools teachers keep virtual students engaged.
Though some DCPS students have returned to in-person classes, most are still learning online because of COVID-19.
Jennifer Wehner is a STEM teacher at John Burroughs Elementary School in Northeast working to keep those digital classes exciting.
She teaches science, technology, engineering and math to students in kindergarten through fifth grade. So far, all of her classes have remained online.
According to Wehner, events like Pi Day help inspire her and her students to keep innovating outside the classroom.
"For me it's like finding things around the house, trying to build models, do experiments, have (the students)...record the data," she said. "We just made that switch of trying to do what we did in the classroom but make it virtual."
For Wehner, any chance to make the material they're covering more tangible is one she'll gladly use.
"'Math is everywhere'," she said. "That's what we like to teach the kids."
A veteran D.C. Public Schools teacher, Wehner says she's been teaching students in the district for nearly 16 years.
One of the lessons she tries to teach them is that it's OK to fail, as long as you learn from it.
"It's OK if you struggle," Wehner said. "That's productive struggle...you're going to have your 'aha' moment. It's going to click."