Pi Day with a twist in Elgin

Pi Day would normally conjure up visions of grandma baking in the kitchen or perhaps a slice of the pumpkin variety in the fall.

But for some students, March 14, or Pi Day, has come to mean celebrations in honor of one of mathematics' most important constants.

Pi, in mathematical terms, is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter. The number has an infinite number of decimal places but is rounded to 3.14. Or March 14.

Get it?

Many schools have taken to the idea of tossing actual pies to celebrate, usually with a favorite teacher as the unfortunate target. Teacher Jason Smith, at Elgin's Einstein Academy, has been the whipped-cream bull's-eye for several years now. But this year he had the idea to ramp it up a notch, with students earning the chance to hit him with a plate of pasta — with or without marinara. He also turned it into a fundraiser this year, which made the taste of the sauce just a little bit sweeter.