Protect rainforests

Winner:

A forest is a large area of land that is generally thickly covered with trees and other plants. A rainforest is a thick forest in tropical parts of the world that gets a lot of rainfall. The climate is cold in these rainforests because of the rain it gets. Rainforests cover less than six per cent of Earth's land surface. There are lots of rainforests in the world. They are all situated near the Equator. Rainforests are mostly found in South and Central America, Africa, the Islands around Australia and Asia.

We can find many rare animals, beautiful birds, large trees and tiny insects in these rainforests. There are beautiful, fragrant flowers too. Trees are very important to rainforests because without trees there will be no rain. If there is no water, all animals, birds, plants, insects and reptiles will be destroyed.

Rainforests provide food for man, produce a significant amount of the world's oxygen, help to bring rain, and stand as natural habitats. Some of the threats to the rainforests are wildfires, the cutting down of trees and unauthorised constructions. The largest rainforest in the world is the Amazon Rainforest. The Amazon River (6448 km or 4007 miles) flows across Peru/Brazil and the Amazon Rainforest. The largest rainforest in Sri Lanka is Sinharaja. It's situated in the lowland wet zone in Sri Lanka. The temperature in the Sinharaja rainforest is about 27 degrees Celsius. The average height of a tree in Sinharaja is about 35-40 metres. The average annual rainfall is 2500- 5000 mm.

We can find many valuable trees in Sinharaja such as na, kithul, milla and hora and beautiful varieties of plants such as orchids. It is recorded that 147 species of birds, 45 varieties of reptiles, 86 varieties of mammals, 17 species of fish, 120 varieties of plants and 16 varieties of amphibians are to be found in this rainforest which is a national heritage. Rainforests are very important to human existence and we should prevent the destruction of these forests. We must protect rainforests for the future. Dharani Nawoda Weerasinghe, Grade 10, Anula Vidyalaya,Nugegoda.

Your poems

Friendship and Jealousy

Winner

I want to spread among men,
Said friendship hopefully,
"I also want to spread among them,
Said jealousy with a dreadful laugh.

"I can make the world pleasant"
Said friendship with a smile,
"I can mould hell in this world,"
Said jealousy with a grin.

"You are the person who destroys me,"
Said friendship gravely,
"Huh! you should know how to defeat me,
Said jealousy, mocking at friendship.

"I'll never give a chance to raise,
Your head oh, cruel jealousy,
Emphasised friendship strongly,
While jealousy looked on with fear....

 N. Hasini Nimesha Nagoda, Grade 10 Nelum, St. Joseph's Balika Maha Vidyalaya.

It's spring

Winner:

Early in the morning,
The flowers nod their heads,
As the golden sunshine,
Touch their pretty faces.

As the flowers dance and,
The leaves twirl in the sun,
The sap in the trees froth and boil,
With sweet and gurgling sounds.

A new day has dawned,
Said the pretty little birds,
The flowers are in full bloom,
To say that spring is here.

Thilini M. Chandrasekera, Grade 8B, Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo 8.

The person I admire most

Winner:

There are many admirable people in our country and in other countries as well. The person I admire most is none other than the bast all-rounder in our national cricket team, Mahela Jayawardena. He bats well, bowls well, and also fields well. He was the captain of our team sometime back.

He usually scores more than 50 runs in ODIs. He plays many boundaries. He wins many trophies too. He is a talented person.

I admire him mostly because of his leadership qualities. He maintains a good relationship among his team players. He obeys the rules and regulations of the game.

He is a kind person too. Because of his good qualities, he gets on well with colleagues as well as with other people in the world. I admire and love him for his talents and his achievements.

I wish him well.

Wishmin Chamanga,

Grade 7,

Sussex College,Kurunegala.

My favourite poet

Winner:

My favourite poet is M. Metha. He is from India. He is a Professor by profession. He is a very famous poet and lyricist.

He has written more than 40 books and 2,000 songs for films. He has won many awards for his literary work. His poems are very interesting and lovely. He has thousands of fans all over the world.

He writes his poems in the common man's language. When we read his poems, we get confidence in life. By reading his poems, many have been inspired to become poets.

He has been to Sri Lanka twice to grace the "Kamban Vizha" and other literary functions. His book "Kanneer Pookkal" is included in the syllabus of many universities in India.

I like his poems very much.

R. Fathima Sara,

Grade 5,

AR Rahimiya Vidyalayam,

Paddiyadipiddy,Akkaraipattu.

My first day at school

My mother prepared milk rice for breakfast. She woke me up at 5 o'clock and I washed my face and brushed my teeth. Then I ate my breakfast.

She dressed me in a clean uniform. Then I worshipped my parents and went to school with them.

The name of my school was Ceylinco Sussex College, then. Now it is called Sussex College.

I was sent to my class and the class teacher greeted me with a lovely smile.

Some students became friendly with me and called me to play with them. But, on the first day I cried a lot. My class teacher gave a blank sheet of paper to draw on, because I was crying.

I will remember this day all my life.

Dewmalee Jayamanne,

Grade 4,

Sussex College,Kurunegala.