Swine flu

Winner:

There are many diseases in this world. Some are infectious while others are not. For example, dengue is infectious, but diabetes is not infectious.

Some non-infectious diseases have no medicines to cure them, but many infectious diseases have medicines to cure them.

A(H1N1) is a dangerous disease which spreads. There’s a vaccine which is given with an injection to cure it. There isn’t any other medicine to cure a person who has contracted it.Scientists call this a ‘quadruple reassortant’ virus. It has two genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia, plus avian genes and human genes. But this flu is NOT caused by eating pork or pork products.

This virus was first detected in people in the United States in April last year. The virus spreads from person to person in the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread.

This H1N1 influenza is spread when we cough or sneeze and also by the wind. As H1N1’s transmitter is a virus, we can prevent the spreading of this virus by wearing a surgical grade face mask.

If you are healthy, stay away from individuals exhibiting flu symptoms. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or handkerchief when you cough or sneeze. And remember to wash your handkerchief daily and dispose of your used tissues. If you don’t have a tissue or a handkerchief when you need to cough or sneeze.

Cover your mouth and nose with your elbow instead of your hands. Don’t touch your nose and mouth unnecessarily because you could contract the disease.

Uvini Uththama Edirisinghe,

Grade 8A, Devi Balika Vidyalaya,

Colombo 8.

Ancient city of Anuradhapura

Winner:

The city of Anuradhapura was the first kingdom of ancient Sri Lanka and king Pandukabhaya was its first ruler.

The famous Maha Mevuna Uyana was created by King Mutasiwa, the son of King Pandukabhaya. His second son, King Dewanampiyatissa was the first king who accepted the great teachings of the Buddha.

There are many significant places in Anuradhapura.

The highly venerated Sri Maha Bodhi, the oldest Bo tree in the world, was planted in this place during the reign of King Devanampiyatissa. It was brought to Sri Lanka by Sangamitta Theraniya.

The ruins of the first dagoba, Thuparamaya built by king Devanampiyatissa can be seen even today.

King Dutugemunu who saved the country from the Chola King Elara built the great Ruwanweliseya, Mirisawetiya and Lowamahapaya.

Ruwanweliseya is the most venerated stupa by Buddhists in the country. There are two other giant stupas in the vicinity. They are Jethawanaramaya built by King Mahasen and Abhayagiriya made by King Wallagamba.

Isurumuniya, the Samadhi Buddha statue beautiful ponds and massive tanks like Tissa wewa, Kala wewa, Abeya wewa and Nuwara Wewa are some of the great historical creations found in Anuradhapura.

It is our responsibility to protect and conserve them. We must be proud of our history and heritage.

Bhagya Pandithakoralege,

St. Bridget’s Convent,

Colombo 7.

My grandparents

My grandfather’s name is Somanath Welabada. He is 68 years old. His hobby is helping others. He is very kind.

My grandmother is Prema. She is 65 years old. She likes to sew. She too is very kind. I love my grandparents a lot.

Dinuri Wimalaratne,

Grade 3-B,

Vidura College,

Nawala.

[Your Poems]

 The environment Winner Blue skies, White clouds, Green trees, Colourful flowers, Our environment’s gifts. Sun ie shining, Birds are flying, Flowers are blooming, In our environment. Beautiful environment, It’s our life, A wonderful sight, Don’t let it be destroyed. Don’t pollute the air, Don’t pollute the water, Don’t pollute the land, But protect them all. Shanal Happuarachchi, Grade 6, St. Lawrence’s Convent, Colombo 6.

Acquire good manners

Winner

A person's behaviour says a lot about him or her. A well mannered person is greatly admired by everyone whereas an ill-mannered person is not.

Good manners are nothing more than being kind, polite and considerate. If simply means that we should respect the people around us and even our environment.

Good manners reveal a person's breeding. They speak not only of that particular person, but also about his or her family background.It is at home that we acquire most of our habits. Children always copy the behaviour of their parents and elders. As a result, through a person's behaviour, we can tell a lot about the person's family.

We should try not to hurt others by our words or actions and always be kind and polite to everyone. It is also important to listen when the other person is talking.

Littering the road, spitting in public, playing loud music in cars and at homes, are all examples of poor manner.A truly educated person will always be well-mannered. Just because one goes to a reputed school it does not mean that one acquires good manners. Anyone can acquire good manners provided that person is keen to do so.

Fathima Shahika Refai,

Grade 8B,Al-Manar International School.

A great personality I admire

President Mahinda Rajapaksa whom I admire the most took office in 2005 as the fifth executive President of Sri Lanka. Four Executive Presidents ruled our country before him, but none of them could win the terrorist war. For the last 30 years, the Northern and Eastern provinces which were divided, were ruled by the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. But the President gave the necessary leadership to war heroes to destroy the LTTE and rescue innocent civilians from the clutches of terrorism.

On May 18, 2009, at Vellamully Vaikal, Prabhakaran was killed and the war against terrorism was finally won. Then our victorious President brought our Motherland under one flag.

Now we are free and living peacefully. The President was the Chairperson of the SAARC Summit which was held recently. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Russian International Friendship University, Moscow. He is a great leader and personality.

R.A. Telani Piyanda Ranaweera,

Grade 9B,Lindsay Girls' School,

Colombo 3.

A trip to Batticaloa

Winner:

During the December school vacation, my family too went on the annual trip organised by the Ruhuna University, because my mother is a technical officer at the university.

We started our trip to Batticaloa very early. By about 5.15 p.m. we reached Nilaweli. We visited the Nilaweli beach, which is very beautiful. We were mesmerised by the sunset at this place. I bathed in the sea with my father. Then we went to the Aesthetic Training College of Batticaloa where we were due to stay. We initially thought we would have rooms to stay, but unfortunately there was only a large hall without any beds. So, we swept the place and arranged the mattresses on the floor. We had to organise our own dinner too and it was quite a problems as there were so many of us. Anyway I thought it was another good experience in our lives.

On the second day, we played cricket. My team won the match. It was a wonderful experience. In the afternoon we visited several places including the Pasikudah beach. My father and I had a sea bath on that day too. I was very happy to see those areas developing after the 30-year war. Fortunately on the second day of our trip we had rooms to stay.

On the third day we reached Batticaloa. We had food at a Tamil restaurant. It was a novel experience to eat Tamil food and do shopping in Tamil shops in this area.

I got the opportunity to meet new friends. I gained a lot of knowledge and also enjoyed myself during the trip. We reached Matara by 10 p.m. It was an unforgettable experience in my life.

Dinitha Uthpala Kithulgoda,

Grade 5, Rahula College, Matara.

Live a better life

Life depends on destiny. No one can change destiny. Some might think God will let us live longer, but if they think that God sent them to this world, they cannot expect God to let them live longer as they wish to.

We spend our life doing worthless things which might affect our whole future.

Life is unpredictable. Something might happen at this very moment. You might not live for another tomorrow. Natural disasters, accidents or a sudden health problem like an unexpected heart attack may occur at any moment. We must live an organised life. Never postpone your work for another day while you can do it today itself. Never complain or grumble about redundant things. We must learn to be patient at all times, a quality which many of us lack. We must control our feelings, otherwise they might lead us to a lot of trouble.We must be happy with what we have and appreciate it. We must not think that we can achieve anything in this world easily.

The great scientists, astronomers, doctors, authors and many others worked hard to make the world a better place. They did not devote themselves merely to earn fame, they did it with a good concept to make our lives easy and they loved what they did. Even though they are no more their memories live on.We must always have a goal and work hard to achieve it. We must build good qualities within us, and put them into practice. Try to live a simple life. Take note of your mistakes. Be friendly with everyone, including nature.

Always work for the goodwill of the world, so that you will never regret your deeds later. Life may be short or long, but do not fail to accomplish your dreams. Life is not only about-living, it's also about how you live it!

Demagi Herath,

London O/L (I), Musaeus College.