As we made preparations for celebrating GFA's Centennial year, taking an all-school, 1-0-0 photo on the Front Lawn was a given—or was it? How could we efficiently organize a community of 956 students, teachers, and staff in giant digits that would be visible (and obvious) from 710 feet? To solve the problem, literally, members of the Advancement Team turned to Upper School students in Mr. Matte's Inquiry in Probability and Combinatorics—a class where sophomores and seniors turned theory into practice with an unusual real-world challenge.
Mr. Matte, now in his 25th year of teaching at GFA, knew his students would embrace the opportunity. “This inquiry course is designed to develop mathematical thinking through hands-on investigation and real-world applications,” he explained. “It gives students the freedom to look at things they’re interested in.” The class, made up of sophomores and seniors, regularly tackle problems from the Martingale Strategy in roulette to calculating the expected value in a Ravens-Chiefs football bet.
For the Centennial photo project, students faced multiple variables: How large should each digit be? How many people should stand in each number? How could they ensure the digits would be proportional and clearly visible for an aerial shot?
The problem-solving process drew on concepts from the course curriculum, including probability, combinatorics, and spatial reasoning. Students had to consider the density of the digits and maintain consistent scale across all three numbers.
After careful calculations and several iterations, the class determined the optimal dimensions: each digit would measure 48 feet wide by 58 feet tall, with eight feet of space between them. This design would accommodate the entire GFA community while creating a clear, balanced "100" formation.
The sketch of their design was shared with Grounds Manager Tom Barry, who, along with his crew, painted the stencil on the Front Lawn three days before Giving Day. On a beautiful morning bursting with energy and spirit, students PreK-12 assumed their positions in their assigned digit alongside teachers, advisors, coaches, staff, and a few visitors. So precise was the math, the grand 1-0-0 photo only took 15 minutes to snap!
“Math is foundational to everything,” a senior shared during her symposium presentation. For our signature 1-0-0 photo, in GFA’s 100th year, this was certainly true.
