What's Happening in the Middle School?
St. Luke's Math Family Game Night: An Evening of Fun Learning
Surprised reactions and smiles of satisfaction were seen throughout the Forese Family Fireplace Commons during St. Luke’s Middle School Math Family Game Night. For two hours, students, parents, and faculty came together for an entertaining night of learning through math-focused games. Under the direction of our Math Department in conjunction with the Julie Robinson Math Festival, Upper School students and faculty members ran the activities which were geared towards grades 3-8. However, that didn’t stop participants of all ages from joining in the fun.
Colorful game and puzzle pieces were flipped, stacked, and folded in activities such as the Lightbulb, Tower of Hanoi, and Chocolate Fix. Mini tetrahedrons were decorated, which Upper School students then used to build a Sierpinski's tetrahedron. There were also two rows of chess tables in the Student Commons, where students and adults took turns playing matches or learning the game.
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Colorful game and puzzle pieces were flipped, stacked, and folded in activities such as the Lightbulb, Tower of Hanoi, and Chocolate Fix. Mini tetrahedrons were decorated, which Upper School students then used to build a Sierpinski's tetrahedron. There were also two rows of chess tables in the Student Commons, where students and adults took turns playing matches or learning the game.
St. Luke’s Math Chair Mary Frederick reflected on the evening: “It was such a fun night with our families spending time together and discovering all the playful ways we can use math, whether it’s for a learning activity or in our everyday lives.”
Participating parents shared similar sentiments on social media. Liz Perry wrote, “We loved this event! Great teachers, great energy.” and Vanessa Landegger commented, “[MS Math Family Game Night] was a huge success. I kept chastising myself for never doing it before with my older kids! Imagine my relief when I learned it was the first one!”
The next morning, Middle School students excitedly commented: “Game night was really fun!”
and asked, “Are they planning to do another game night? I think they should definitely do it again!”
and asked, “Are they planning to do another game night? I think they should definitely do it again!”
Frederick added, “We want to ensure our students understand that math is not just about doing problems and memorizing formulas, it’s flexible and allows students to search for patterns and gain logic. Math can be fun too. We hope that events like this will instill a love of Math in our students as they grow at St. Lukes.”
According to the website of the Julie Robinson Math Festival (JRMF), its mission is “an educational organization that sponsors locally organized mathematics festivals targeting K–12 students. The events are designed to introduce students to the richness and beauty of mathematics in a collaborative and non-competitive forum.”
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
