Winner:

The Earth is a place where everyone has the right to be born, live, learn and die. No one has the right to destroy it or others living on it.

There are many valuable natural resources on the Earth and corals are just one of them.

Corals are a very valuable and live part of the Earth. Due to a form of marine life such as the sea anemone, corals are formed. Corals not only add a great amount of natural splendour to the environment, but also protect the reefs. If these sublime parts of nature are destroyed, the beauty of our planet will get affected and great harm would also be done. Destruction of corals results in unexpected sea erosions and other natural disasters.People destroy corals for many reasons such as to obtain calcium oxide. People also destroy corals unknowingly, by killing turtles. Starfish which consume corals are eaten by turtles. If the turtles are destroyed then the starfish will remain. They will in turn consume the corals and then their population will be deplete. Therefore, people should be educated about the value of corals and advised not to harm nature. They must be taught to protect the natural elegance of planet Earth.

Gimhani Upeksha Waduge

Grade 10 B (English Medium)

Carmel Girls’ Central College,Chilaw.

Where dinosaurs come alive!

A visit to the dinosaur section at the Natural History Museum in London is very exciting! There’s a lot to discover about these animals that lived a very long time ago.

They are now extinct, but in the museum, it feels as if they are alive, in the room! There is one dinosaur that is a robot. It sounds and moves just like a real dinosaur. You can watch it eating a small animal. The dinosaur looks fearsome, but it only uses its teeth to eat plants; leaves and flowers.

It does not eat meat. But some dinosaurs did eat meat. There were some dinosaurs that could fly too!

People who study about dinosaurs believe that they lived in trees and had wings, just like birds. So, are birds a part of the dinosaur family? It’s interesting to trace their ancestry.

Thilan Meegoda,

Grade 7-B,

Sri Sumangala Boys’ College,

Panadura.

Look before you leap

Winner:

A well-known proverb especially among village folks is “Look before you leap”. A proverb is a short piece of advice usually known by many people, stating something commonly experienced.

This proverb tells us that people should think twice before they do something. People who disregard this proverb get into trouble very often.

There are so many legends in history to prove that this saying is true. People may fall into great difficulties by doing things according to their own wish without thinking through about its after-effects.

The most common legend connected with this proverb is the story about the rabbit and the lion. According to it, the rabbit made the greedy and ferocious lion jump into a well saying that there was another lion inside the well who is more aggressive than the lion on the ground. So, the lion became angry and without thinking that it was his own reflection, jumped into the well at once and was drowned.

This proverb gives us valuable advice and compels us to think carefully before we do something. We must always heed such advice.

Dileepa Tissera,

Grade 7M,Ecole International,Kandy.

Protect local crafts

Winner:

There are many local crafts in our country such as pottery, batik, brassware, puppetry, masks making and cane industry.

There are many colourful masks made of wood which attract tourists. Some place these masks at the entrance to the house to ward-off the evil eye (es waha as it's called in Sinhala). They are also used as ornaments in the house and in public places such as hotels.

The cane industry is confined to special areas such as Wewaldeniya near Nittambuwa. The craftsmen in the area turn out beautiful furniture, household items and ornaments with the reeds of cane. They are very popular even among local housewives and tourist hotels. However, these craftsmen face many problems today because of the scarcity of the raw material - cane. Today most people prefer cheap plastic furniture to cane furniture because it's much easier to maintain.

The brass industry is carried out mostly in the Kandy district. Pilimathalawa, Udunuwara and Kalapura are famous for this. In most Sri Lankan homes, there are brass vases, lamps and other ornaments. The brass craftsmen have a problem in obtaining brass as it is imported and they have to pay heavy taxes.

Batik is also one of our local crafts which is very popular among the tourists because they are done mostly on cotton materials. Today, batik is a cottage industry with thousands of people employed in it.Pottery is done mostly in the Kegalle district. Molagoda is famous for it. Many household items such as pots, vases and ornaments are made out of clay.

We must protect and develop our local crafts instead of imported ones. So, we must buy local products. India is a developed and powerful country because Indian people mostly buy products made in their own country.

D.M. Kanishka Akmal Bandara Dunukara,

10 - C,

D.B. Wijethunge National School,

Daskara, Muruthagahamula, Kandy.

Value of reading newspapers...

Winner:

There are many kinds of newspapers we could read everyday. They contain different types of news articles and a variety of valuable information. It is important for us to read newspapers in order to be aware of the day-to-day happenings around the world and gain knowledge.

By reading newspapers, we can learn about the political situation, environmental issues, developments in the educational field and other areas, the condition of the weather, economic status and social developments, various other activities taking place globally and also sports news in the foreign and local scene.There are newspapers printed by different organisations, in Sinhala, Tamil and English. Some are daily newspapers and others are weekend papers.

There are newspapers for children too. Some of the children's newspapers in Sinhala are the Mihira, Vijaya, Rusiya, and Jagatha. The Junior Observer is an English newspaper for children. We should cultivate the habit of reading newspapers from our young days. We should read many newspapers daily, and learn as much as we could about our surroundings.

W. D. Supanna Rashmika,

Grade 9-E, Taxila Maha Vidyalaya, Horana.

My school

My school Musaeus College is in Colombo 7. It is a Buddhist Girls' school. The founder Principal is Marie Musaeus Higgins. There are many big buildings, a large number of students and teachers in the school. The Principal is Mrs. S. Dandeniya. There are many sports and games in my school. I am proud to be a Musiete. I love my school very much.

Lakni Edirisinghe,

Grade 3-E,

Musaeus College, Colombo-7.

Your poems

Sweet Mother!

Winner:

You are the best example of real love
You are the first teacher in our lives
You do everything for our betterment.
There are no words to express your love.

You are the most precious gem in our lives
You are the most valuable gift, God gave us.
Your enduring patience surprises us.
Your astonishing qualities are admirable.

Your calm smile and sweet words
That’s the love in our blood
You’re protected in our hearts
We love you deeper than the ocean

Fathima Shameemah Silmy, Grade 9B, Muslim Ladies’ College.