How I spent my holiday

Winner:

My family and I decided to go to Wasgamuwa during my school holidays. We woke up at five in the morning that day. We had breakfast and left home by about six a.m. On our way to Wasgamuwa, we saw many mountains and waterfalls. We reached our destination by 12.45 p.m. We had our lunch, rested for a while and then went to see the animals. First we saw a herd of deer and a herd of elephants. Some of the elephants were bathing. There was a tiny baby elephant hiding behind its parents. We also saw a flock of birds. An eagle was eating a rabbit. We saw a baby python too. There were many anthills, everywhere. We spotted a leopard on a large rock.

We stayed in a bungalow at Wesgamuwa for three nights. My brother and I enjoyed our first day a lot.On the second day we had our breakfast and got ready by 7.30 a.m. to go to a temple. We came back at 10.45 a.m. and had a bath in the Mahaweli River. Elephants too bathe in this river. We came back at 2.00 p.m. On our way we saw a mongoose running. We had our lunch at the bungalow. It was a beautiful day. We rested after lunch and my brother and I played later. Later, we had our dinner and went to bed early.

On the following day, we saw a leopard on a tree and another one eating a deer. Then we went to see the bears. We saw a bear family and many beehives too. There were two bears running.We started on our journey back home that day. On the way an elephant came towards our vehicle. We were scared, but then the elephant stopped and went away. We were lucky to see a large herd of elephants on our way back. It was a wonderful holiday and we like to go there again, someday.

Thiran Liyanapathirana,

Grade 4-A,Oxford International College,Udahamulla, Nugegoda.

Education is a treasure

Winner:

Every living being is exposed to learning. Both man and animals learn various things throughout their lives. For example, a puppy, a kitten or a birdling watches its mother or father and learns how to act and live from them. Humans too learn various things by observing people and events around them. Therefore, we cannot say that learning is limited to books only. However, we should pay a lot of attention to what we learn at school. All children from grade one upwards have the right to an education.

From the moment a child is first introduced to the alphabet, he is in the process of learning to either become a doctor, engineer, teacher, scientist or someone qualified to work in some other field. We possess many valuable things in life which could be robbed or taken away from us but, no one can rob the knowledge we have gained throughout life. So, open your mind to learning and make the best use of it until you reach your goals.

M. Faleel Mohothar,

Grade 7A,Sailan International School, Negombo.

A day at the beach

Winner:

During the past holidays I went to Bentota beach with my family. On our way to the beach, I watched the sea along the coast. I could hear the sound of the waves from the hotel room we were staying at in Bentota.

In the evening I went to the beach with my parents. It was great to experience the waves touching my feet. I built a sand castle with a flag on top of it and also watched the sunset; it was a beautiful sight.

Most people were having great fun on the beach. As it was getting dark, and my dress too was wet I had to get back to the hotel. But I wanted to stay much longer because it was windy and cool.

I was happy that night because it was a day full of fun at the beach.

Shenali Ruwanya Liyanage,

Grade 4H,

Musaeus College, Colombo.

Cultivate the habit of reading

Winner:

It is said that the habit of reading is on the decline among school children. This is a very sad situation because books are the key to a world of knowledge and fantasy. Most students say that they do not have free time to read books. This is due to various reasons. There's great competition among school children to get through examination today. Children have no time to read because they attend tuition classes after school, almost everyday. Television too has became a great obstacle for their reading habit. They think that reading is a difficult task and watching and listening is much easy. Another reason is the scarcity of books in most school libraries and the high cost of books in the market.

When we read books we come across various characters. Some characters are exemplary and can become our role models in life. Reading helps students to spend their leisure in a useful manner and also develop their creative minds as one has to virtually picture what's being said, for example, in a storybook. A book can also be regarded as a good companion.

Sir Francis Bacon once said "Reading maketh a full man". There's a lot of truth in this great saying. Reading does help people, especially students to enrich their knowledge on various subjects. Parents too should encourage their children to cultivate the habit of reading. K. A. Sanduni Nimasha Sathsarani, Grade 8-F, Dambadeniya Central College, Dambadeniya.

Your poems

Books can create magic!

Winner:

Books are magic boxes,
They are forever ready
To lend you a bit of magic,
For almost anything in the world.
You can travel
Back or forward in time,
To the Jurassic age
Or to the space age.
You can have an instant replay
Of something
Not by pressing a button,
But by turning back
To a page you have read earlier.
You can put a book into a pocket
And keep it with you,
Not like a computer or a TV.
Books are boxes of magic
That can create magic
Anywhere on the Earth!

Nillasi Liyanage, Grade 10F, Musaeus College, Colombo 7.

Let's go to the Nallur Temple

Let's go to the Nallur Temple,
Wearing 'veshti' and shawl
Let's go to the Nallur Temple
To see the beauty of 'Vel'
Let's go to the Nallur Temple
To learn cultural traits
Let's go to the Nallur Temple
To learn to live in peace
Let's go to the Nallur Temple
To share the joys of life
Let's go to the Nallur Temple
To obey traditional norms.
Let's go to the Nallur Temple
To pray and praise the Lord
Let's go to the Nallur Temple
And purify our hearts.

 

S. Arumuthan, Grade 8 A, J/Skandavarodaya College,Chunnakam.

Myself

My name is Harshani Sandareenu. I am twelve-years-old. I live in Panawala.
My school is Botale KV. My class teacher is Mrs. Hema Gunasekara. I am in Grade 7.
I am interested in studying English. I have a brother and a sister. My favourite colour is pink. My pet is a dog. Its name is Tommy. My best friend is Malsha.
My mother is Somalatha and my father is Gamini. My ambition is to be a doctor one day.

 

D. Harshani Sandarenu, Grade 7, Botale KV, Ambepussa.

My fish tank

I have a fish tank. There are beautiful fish in it. My favourite fish is goldfish. I feed my fish everyday and look after them. I like to watch them swim about in the tank.

 Imal Maleesha Kannangara, Grade 4 C, St. Mary's College, Matugama.