At the pan-Hellenic mathematics student festival, the Minority High School – Lyceum of Komotini

On Wednesday, April 17 and Thursday, April 18, the Komotini Minority Gymnasium-Lyceum took part in the 4th Panhellenic online math student festival with the teacher PE03 Mustafa Birchel in charge and the Middle and High School students, who participated by solving riddles and dealing with mathematical problems.

The slogan of the festival is “Mathematics is everywhere” and highlights the presence of mathematics in our everyday life and urges students to discover it from various angles and especially to: recognize that mathematics permeates the world around us, appreciate the usefulness, power and beauty of mathematics, enjoy mathematics and develop patience and persistence in solving problems, have confidence in using mathematics to analyze and solve problems both in school and in “real” situations, develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to pursue further studies in mathematics, cultivate critical appreciation for the use of information and communication technology in mathematics, appreciate the international dimension of mathematics and its multicultural and historical perspectives, enhance self-confidence, self-esteem and strengthen positive thinking.

From theory to practice
As part of the festival, the students of the school’s 3rd Lyceum and the responsible teacher Mustafa Birchel prepared a presentation. The students, wanting to better inform their teachers and classmates, did not stay only in theory about the existence of mathematics in everyday life, but also went into practice to make the importance of this science more understandable by presenting great mathematicians and scientists and the their important offer. This is how the following was presented:

1) Pythagoras’ Cup of Justice, 2) Leonardo Da Vinci’s Bridge, 3) Why Well Covers are Round, 4) Pythagorean Theorem, 5) Napier’s Bones, 6) Golden Ratio, 7) Vitruvian Man, 8) Towers of Hanoi, 9) Mathematical Materials Made with a 3D Printer, 10) Paintings, 11) Mathematical Games.

Mustafa Birchel said: “As a mathematician what I want to emphasize is that my sole purpose is not to teach only mathematics as a subject, but by teaching to make my students love this positive science. That is, by helping students to acquire correct knowledge in mathematics class, they can then understand, identify and connect mathematical theory with mathematics that exists in everyday life. Because mathematics is directly connected to the life and everyday life of man. It’s not just a lesson that stays in theory.”

The director Memet Tunalp, the deputy director Eleni Hatzi and the teachers’ association congratulated the teacher and the students for their excellent action.