Importance of saving money

Saving money is a good habit that we should learn from our young age. When we start saving money from our young age, it helps us to save when we become adults.

Most small children are in the habit of wasting money by spending it on junk food and other unwanted stuff which are really of no value.

Many spend large amounts of money on buying the latest models of mobile phones, sending SMSs and taking too much of phone calls. Some children even steal money from their parents and elders just to eat junk food and buy various stuff.

Some men are in the habit of getting together as a gang and taking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and wasting money on unnecessary things.

Most children waste electricity by not switching off lights and fans and playing games on the computer. Then the electric bills become high and money is wasted on settling these huge bills.

We have to stop wasting money and learn to save money in banks, tills, post office savings etc. We must learn to spend money on our daily needs sparingly. We can save money by limiting our calls and SMSs and cutting down on junk food etc.

Taking alcohol and smoking cigarettes should also be discontinued by adults as it is not only a waste of money, but also a cause for early death. By doing this we can save and also be healthy. If we start to save money when we are young we could use these savings for our basic needs when we grow older.

Sometimes when we grow older we may get sudden heart attacks, high blood pressure and various ailments and be in need of money for an operation or medication. We don’t have to go in search of money or ask others’ help because we would have our savings to utilise for this purpose. We can cut down on our unwanted expenditure if we learn to save on a regular basis. In banks our money is safe and we can increase our money because we get interest too.

I would like to advise people to save money taking into account that it is a treasure for the next generations.

Nimasha Charuni, Grade 8-B, Sailan International School, Negombo.

Gems - Lanka’s pride

Sri Lanka has been very popular for gems from ancient times. Gems are an important export commodity in Sri Lanka. Many areas in the Sabaragamuwa Province are well-known for gems. Rathnapura is the most famous district for gemstones. The meaning of Rathnapura is “The city of gems”. There are so many gem museums in Rathnapura displaying a wide range of gems available in the country.

The “blue sapphire’ is the pride of Sri Lankan gems. The 400 carat blue sapphire called “Blue Bell” which adorns the British crown is said to be from Sri Lanka. Cat’s eyes, rubies and amethysts are some of the precious gems found in Sri Lanka.

Gems are cut and polished before they are set. Cutting gems is a speciality job.Most people wear gem studded jewellery to enhance their beauty. Some believe that gems have a power to bring luck and ward off evil. Gems are very beautiful and valuable and we should be proud to have such a resource in our motherland.

Aathif Sanaya, Grade 7F, Asoka College, Colombo 10.

How useful are robots?

We humans have always been inventors. Whenever we found work to be difficult, dangerous or even boring to handle, we invented tools and machinery to carry out such tasks.

The robot is one such invention. It is very expensive. Most robots are made out of metal and are built with the ability to do various tasks. Robots could make people lazy in the future when they are used widely.

There are many advantages as well as disadvantages. Robots are artificial and no matter what level of intelligence they are equipped with, there are still many differences between them and humans. On the plus side, robots can do many things which man cannot do without thinking.

They are very quick in their work and more skilled than even some of the high-skilled scientists. Another advantage is that they could work around the clock and never get tired. They can perform various dangerous, boring or difficult tasks endlessly, but we humans cannot work like this.

Robots cannot think nor breathe as they are non-living things. They generally have no emotions or any kind of sensitivity. They cannot love and hate each other like humans do, even though they can perform human tasks or activities.

However, some of the modern-day robots are highly sophisticated and are very human-like. Robots depend on batteries or electricity to function and they have to be programmed by humans no matter how advanced they are.

Humans can only work for limited hours and they easily get tired whenever they are over-worked. It is better to avoid getting used to robots to perform various tasks for us as they could make us lazy. When they are not available or malfunction, we’ll find it hard to do our work if we depend too much on them. Today they are used in various fields, especially in medical and scientific research and also in the automobile industry.

Fawza Rumaiz, Grade 8B, Sailan International School, Negombo.

Smoking and its effects

Smoking is one of the major causes of premature death. The National Health Authority says nearly five million people die from smoking related diseases such as lung cancer, bronchitis and heart ailments.

Smoking affects not only the smokers but also non-smokers.

Most people do not know about the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes.

Tobacco contains poisonous substances in the form of particles and gases. They are highly poisonous and fatal. Every cigarettes takes seven minutes off your life. About 90 per cent of all lung cancer, 75 per cent of chronic bronchitis and 25 per cent of heart diseases are connected to smoking.

A smoker gets addicted to the poisonous nicotine. Smoking also affects babies born to mothers who smoke. In the United Kingdom about 600 lung cancer deaths and 12,000 heart patients among non-smokers are attributed to passive smoking.

Smoking is banned in schools, libraries, hospitals, government offices, factories, buses and other public places. All tobacco promoting advertisements are also banned.

The government should initiate a campaign through the media to warn the public of the grave dangers of smoking.

M. M. Asmath Shahani, Km/Mahmud Ladies’ College, Kalmunai.

Mum, dad, this is for you!

A special thing,
You both gave me,
Life...
So valuable to me.
Blood turned to milk,
You gave me
Strength to live,
Your words taught me to speak,
How do I repay?
You’re so great mum.
You liked to see
My sweet smile,
You taught me
What love is
You gave me a hand to rise, to fill my belly
How tired you maybe
How do I repay?
You’re so great dad.
A day’ll come,
For me to protect you both like my eyes,
I promise to do so
From the bottom of my heart
Because, you’re my life!

Imali Fernando, Hemamali Girls’ College, Kandy.

A tribute to our science teacher

Mrs. Sujatha Maline Punyawardhana is the best teacher who comes to my mind when I think of my teachers. She retired recently from our school, leaving us memorable experiences.

She had been a teacher of science for 31 years, including 23 years in our school, St. Mathews’ College.

As an experienced teacher, she did her best to do a service for the students, as well as the community.

She was in-charge of many clubs including the Environmental Pioneers’ Club, Young Inventors’ Club, Lavoisier’s Science Club and Health Club.

These clubs helped us in many ways, not only in the academic field, but also in the development of our minds. Many students participated in the Young Inventors’ Club and won prizes.

To develop our knowledge of science she started the Lavoisier’s Club. We learnt many things about food, safety and health through the Health Club.

Osu Uyana which is full of herbal and medicinal plants was established in 1998. As a result of her dedication it was aired on the television recently and highly praised. Mrs. Sujatha Punyawardhana, as an exemplary teacher, always tried to lead us in the correct path. She always advised us to be good citizens in the world. I appreciate her service and admire her dedication. I will respect her throughout my life.

M. Faizan Jaleel, Grade 11,St. Mathews’ College, Colombo 9.

Colombo

Colombo is the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. It was once the administrative capital of the country. There are many places of importance located in Colombo. One such place is the National Museum where many valuable, historic items are kept on display. The golden throne of King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe is also at the Colombo Museum.

The Galle Face Green, with the beach is also an interesting place where people go to relax and many important State functions too are held. There are beautiful parks, like Viharamaha Devi and star class hotels such as the Hilton, Galadari and Taj Samudra too in Colombo. The National Zoological Garden is also located within Colombo, in Dehiwala, which is a neighbouring town of my place of residence.

Saeeda Banu Shafeek, A Shariya Muslim Girls’ International School.

Helping others, my favourite pastime

I have several hobbies to keep myself occupied during my leisure, but the most important and consistent among them is helping others including my parents grandmother, uncles, aunts and of course, school mates.

You may wonder how an 11-year-old boy could help them in their daily chores. There are so many ways to do so, but what I really want to do is to make them happy and help them forget their problems. In order to do this, I always crack a joke or sing a song.

Of course, I help them in other ways too. For example, at home I try to help my mother in her work in the kitchen and living room, in whatever small measure I could.In the classroom, I joyfully help my classmates to overcome problems in their studies. I get enormous happiness and satisfaction by helping others.

Jalitha Yaharuwan Bandarage, Grade 6B, D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo 7.