Bandarawela is a beautiful town

Winner:

The village I live in is Beddakumbura. The nearest town from my village is Bandarawela. It is about two kilometres away.

Most of the people living in my village are farmers. Every Sunday they go to the Bandarawela town to sell their vegetables at the fair held in the town. Bandarawela town is a very busy business centre. After the 1983 communal riots, this town has been developed with new shops and super markets. There is a clock tower by the side of the super market and there is a new town along the Dharma Wijaya Mawatha on the Badulla road. So, Bandarawela has become a favourite health resort for both foreign and local visitors who come here to enjoy the healthy climate and the scenic beauty of the area.

A Buddhist temple, a Catholic church, a Hindu kovil and a Mosque are there in this town which are being maintained and managed by the Urbran Council of Bandarawela. It is a beautiful town.

Dinithi Navodya,

Grade - 7,

St. Joseph’s College.

How dinosaurs died

Winner:

Many animals we are familiar with, in this modern world today are threatened with extinction. If we do not take action to protect such endangered species, soon they will vanish from the face of the Earth, like the highly successful species of reptiles, the dinosaurs that once ruled our world... Of course, the dinosaurs who walked this Earth for millions and millions of years did not die as a result of man’s actions, unlike the hundreds of species under threat of dying out today because of man.

There are many theories as to why the dinosaurs or dinos disappeared. As there were plant eating and meat-eating dinosaurs some suggest the meat-eating dinos such as Tyranosaurus rex may have eaten all the plant eating ones and then they too would have died eventually without any food to eat.

However, the most widely accepted theory is that a giant meteorite which hit the Earth, sending up vast clouds of dust, may have blocked the sun rays or insulated the Earth so effectively, making it too cold for any life to survive on this planet. The various fossils discovered from around the world suggest that there were different types of dinos. Some were meat-eaters (theropods) and others were plant-eaters (sauropods). There were some that could fly too. Dino bones were first discovered by Georges Cuvier. Now there are many fossils discovered in many countries.

Nilukshi Wickremasinghe,

Grade 11-A,Mary Immaculate Convent, Tudella, Ja-ela.

Global warming, the unnoticed threat

Winner:

In the modern society we live in today, we face many spine tingling issues from terrorism to cancer. With all these new deadly issues surfacing everyday, we forget about an out of control, man-made monster we call GLOBAL WARMING. This disturbing issue - a backfire of human genius, is an unnoticed but a deadly villain, and planet Earth is its victim.

Carbon dioxide that is produced artificially through man-made machines cannot be dealt with by the natural filtering system.

Therefore the extra carbon dioxide traps the warmth of the sun, increasing the global temperature (that’s where we get the term global warming).

This foolish and selfish use of science for the comfort of us humans, has had some disastrous consequences. The tsunami we faced in 2004 would look like nothing compared to the natural disasters we would face through global warming.

The temperature would continue to rise dramatically, the sudden rise of temperature would make the polar caps melt, raising the sea level that would swallow up coastal areas and even entire islands. The melting of the polar caps also means that sunlight cannot be reflected from the surface of ice, further increasing the global temperature. These are just some of the few punishments that await us if we keep fuelling the fire of our destruction and may be even the destruction of the Earth. If we don’t take action now the very existence of life will be at risk.

Devin Cooray,

Grade 7, Royal College,

Colombo 7.

Importance of breakfast

Winner:

Breakfast means breaking the fast after being without a meal since having dinner the previous night. The importance of breakfast is known by everybody because it is the first meal of the day. If we skip breakfast the result may not be good. Both the young and old should remember that they should not skip breakfast.

A nutritious breakfast helps everyone of us build physical and mental stamina for the rest of the day. It also improves our brain power and ability to do our studies as well as sports and other daily work well.

The health of those who eat a good breakfast will improve with them having correct weight, correct blood pressure and cholesterol levels. People who do not eat a nutrious breakfast will lack concentration, feel lazy and lethargic most of the time.

They also end up with bad behavioural problems. Everybody who takes a nutritious breakfast and food in general need not see the doctor often because they are generally free from illnesses and diseases.

Minesh Chanuka Udugahapattuwa,

Grade: 8, Sri Sumangala College,

Panadura.

The Anuradhapura Sunday fair

Winner:

The Anuradhapura Sunday fair is situated near my house. I think it is one of the biggest fairs in the country. It starts on Saturday morning and ends on Sunday evening.

There are lots of goods such as fruits, vegetables, yams, cereals, spices, legumes, fish and sweets sold at this fair. In addition,there are toys, plastic items, perfumes, plants and a variety of household items. Lots of people come to buy goods here while some come just to enjoy themselves. They meet friends, chat and laugh at the fair.

At night the Sunday fair is like a carnival. Most people gather around the fish stall. Small children love the balloon vendor. They rush to him and hang on to his arms to buy balloons.

Many vendors or sellers come to the fair from far away places to sell their ware. They stay at the fair in the night. They sell their goods calling out to people in loud voices making the place very noisy. Some bring vegetables from their chenas to sell here and many like to buy them as they are fresh. There is a tank, full of water, behind the Sunday fair. The vendors bathe, wash their faces and even some goods at this small tank. It is known as the Kumbichchankulama wewa.

I enjoy going to the fair a lot. When the fair is over I feel sad. Most of us impatiently wait for the next Sunday fair to come around.

Ama Shakya

Grade 6 (English Medium), A/Central College.

Our President

Our President’s name is Mahida Rajapaksa. He is from Hanbantota District. He is married to Mrs. Shiranthi Rajapaksa. He has four children.

He has four brothers. When he first entered Parliament he was only twenty four years old. He was the youngest person to be a member of Parliament. He has been elected as the President for the second term also. He gave strong leadership to fight the ethnic war and we won it after nearly 30 years.

Thanks to him, there is no fear of bombs exploding in the country anymore. “Thank you, Dear President for finishing the war, because now we could go to so many places in our own country during the school holiday, without any fear.”

Changa Malawige,

Grade - 4 A, Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo 4.

The duck

The duck is a bird.

It has wings so it can fly.

It has webbed-feet so it can swim.

It likes worms.

It is white yellow in colour.

It lives in water and on land.

M. Hiruni Punsara,

Grade 3-B, Sir John Kothalawala

Vidyalaya,Kurunegala.

Autobiography of a bicycle

I am a bicycle. I was born in China. I am seven years old. My name is Diana. I am white and purple in colour. I have two wheels, a bell, a handle, a chain, a paddle and many other parts. I like to travel very fast especially on the bends, because, it makes me very happy. Usually I’m not happy to ride slowly. Even though I like to ride fast you have to keep in mind it is not good to ride me very fast, because it may lead to an accident.

I am an echo-friendly machine. I do not pollute the air, sound and water. I am also a user-friendly machine. Anyone can learn to ride me easily. People can ride me as well as use me to do exercises. Anyone can purchase me easily, because I am available in the market.

My mistress is Tharushi. She is very kind and treats me very well. She cleans me everyday and brushes my body. She likes to ride me and admires my colours. I like her very much because she loves me. I am a sweet, nice and a small bicycle.

Tharushi A. Jayawardena,

Grade 7C,

Anula Vidyalaya, Nugegoda.

Butterflies

Butterflies and birds add beauty to our environment. The butterfly hatches out of a small egg and then it is called a caterpillar. It grows eating leaves. Afterwards it weaves a cocoon around it. Inside it, the caterpillar grows into a butterfly. It tries to flap the wings and the cocoon breaks. The butterfly comes out. It is a beautiful creature.

These beautiful butterflies fly from flower to flower sucking honey. Then it looks like a flower on flower. There are a variety of butterflies. Some times they fly in large numbers. It is said that these beauties fly to Sri Pada. Unfortunately they knock on the rocks and stones, and die. To avoid enemies they usually fly sideways.

Children love butterflies. There are many songs about butterflies. It makes children happy to hear such songs. Today there are many pictures and stickers of butterflies which are popular.

Therefore, we must not hurt butterflies. Instead, we should encourage them into our gardens by growing more and more flowers for them to suck nectar from.

Sadishi Doranegama,

Grade 8-E,Girls’ High School, Kandy.