People and animals on earth

Winner:

There are billions of people living in different corners of the world. They live on snow and ice of the poles and in the tropical jungles on the Equator. According to climatic conditions, people have different living styles. Lands near the North and South Poles are called the polar regions. Life in the polar regions is very interesting. The Arctic and Antarctic are extremely cold. Look at the map and see that the North Pole is surrounded by the Arctic ocean. There is no land here.

It is so cold that the sea is frozen into solid ice. Unlike the North Pole, the South Pole lies in the middle of a huge land mass, the continent of Antarctica. The whole of this region except the coastal areas is frozen into solid ice. The winter in these areas are long and for many days the sun does not rise at all. In the short summers, there are days when the sun does not set at all. Imagine what it must be like to see the sun shining even when it is time to go to sleep.

Wild animals found in the polar regions are those which can withstand the cold. Among them are the Arctic hare, the fox, the polar bear, the reindeer and the otter. Some of them live on fish found in the waters of the Arctic ocean.The penguin is a bird found only in Antarctica. The arctic tern is a bird which lays eggs in the far North during the brief Arctic summer. It then migrates to the Antarctica during the northern winter. In this way it enjoys two seasons.

The people who live in the polar regions are known as Eskimos. They live in Greenland, Northern Canada and Alaska. Some Eskimos still live in round domed houses made of ice. These winter homes are called igloos.

The human species is the most numerous and the most powerful of all the animals on earth. In many ways animals can do certain things better than human can. Cats can see in the dark, birds can fly thousands of miles away and return to the same place every year. But humans are different.

We are the only species that can change the world and we are the only species that can choose either to look after our world or to destroy it. Man can conquer anything. He can make the world a good place or bad place to live in.

Mohamed Sajidh Sahib,
Grade 7A,
Kl/Zahira College,
Aluthgama.

A dream I had

Winner:

At about 9 o’clock I went to sleep with a story book. I read the story for some time. Then I felt sleepy. I kept the book close and switched the light off. Then I closed my eyes and fell asleep and then I saw All the Sri Lankans watching me. I was in a dress which is worn by spacemen. I was so happy. Now the rocket was going to take off. I said goodbye to all my Sri Lankans. I was now inside the rocket. Then the rocket went up suddenly. I started flying in the rocket. I was so happy.

A sound was heard, there was an announcement for the driver. It was about “There is the moon on the left”. The rocket turned to left side and then it stopped on the moon. The small doors of the rocket were opened. I got down to the moon. It was floating on the moon. Sometimes I jumped and moved.

Then I took a telescope and saw where our blue planet, Earth. It was beautiful. Then I took some sand from the moon. It was red in colour. I took some into a bag and kept it in the rocket. Then I took our Sri Lankan flag and kept it near the USA flag. Now there are two flags on the moon. I saw some water on the moon. I was really happy. I took so many photographs. I stayed about two to four hours. Then I again came to the rocket.

Then the rocket started going. I took some biscuits to eat. They too were floating. I ran after the biscuits. Then I caught them and ate them. The rocket reached the earth. I got off and saw my Sri Lankan friends. There were so many people waiting for me. I was happy.

They asked me about my journey. But I couldn’t give any answers. My mother asked me to get up. I was surprised. I was in bed. Then I laughed. I think it will take place at some time! I told my family members and they laughed!

F. Nishra Nasar.
11 (E.M.),
G/Sacred Heart Convent,
Galle

Generation gap cannot be bridged

Winner:

The generation gap is one of those things which cannot be bridged. This is mainly because lifestyles change as years pass by and each new generation adapts to a new environment.

One generation is always different from another. The new generations are better adapted to the new environment than the older generations, thus making it easier for them to survive. For instance, we as children or the younger generation, today, have completely different thoughts and ideas to those of our parents or our grandparents generation. They might disagree with certain ideas, while we might disagree with some of their ideas and opinions. Sometimes, our parents do not allow us to do certain things, no matter how hard we try to persuade them.

What I feel is that our parents have had a better life than us. This means they have had freedom and their lives were not limited to school, education and tuition classes. However, what we should understand is that education is important and it determines our future. Since there is competition for survival, education is absolutely necessary.

A common example is that our mothers think that learning to cook and organising housework is an extremely vital part in a girl’s life.

However much this fact might be true, sometimes girls might not feel that these are important. In the old days, parents did not consider higher studies or education as being important aspects.

Instead, they considered marriage to be important. This scenario has changed. Most children consider education, higher studies and obtaining a good occupation to be important, opinions change from generation to generation, therefore ‘generation gap’ is one that cannot be bridged.

Madhushi Palliyaguruge,
Grade 10 (Science) B.
Lyceum International School,
Nugegoda.

A memorable trip to Nuwara Eliya

Winner:

It was our August holidays. My father and mother planned to take us to Nuwara Eliya on August 29. My brother and I woke up around 4 a.m. on that day. By that time my mother had prepared our breakfast and snacks required for the journey. Catching the beauty of Devon and St. Clair falls, we reached the Hakgala Botanical gardens. We spent about three hours there and recorded the beautiful blossoms of flowers in our camera.

Then we went to the Circuit Bungalow at Pattipola. It is located close to the Pattipola railway station which is the highest railway station in Sri Lanka. We were astonished by the beauty of Pattipola. It is very cold but really calm. We were unable to touch ice cold water and we had to wear jerseys throughout the whole day.

In the next morning, we went to see the No. 18 railway tunnel at Pattipola. The tunnel is situated about 3km away from the Pattipola railway station on Ohiya side. We walked there from the Pattipola railway station through the thick blanket of fog. We saw a large number of Maha Rathmal trees on either side of the railway track. These trees are covered with flowers and increased the beauty of nature. My father told me that this tree is found only in Sri Lanka and abundant in Pattipola. On our way towards the tunnel we reached the highest point of the railway network at 6,226 feet above mean sea level. Passing this point we reached the tunnel which was built in 1919 and repaired later. It is the darkest and third longest railway tunnel in Sri Lanka. This is the 18th that tunnel is quite narrow and the centre is even darker. There is an Ays Peella (Cool Gutter) near Pattipola railway station.

Then we went to see the Ambewela New Zealand farm. The climate in Ambewela is ideal for dairy farming and Ambewela is also known as little New Zealand. Then we went to see a strawberry farm which is located close to Meepilimana. They have grown strawberries inside green houses.They said that strawberries must be touched only three times. That is when plucking, packing and eating. Otherwise, the fruit will be damaged as it doesn’t have an outer cover (rind).Then we went to see the Pidurutalagala Mountain. It is 8,282 feet in height. We were enthralled by the beauty of the surrounding. On our way back to the circuit bungalow, we spent some time near Lake Gregory.

On the next day we went to see Horton Plains National Park. It is the only National Park in Sri Lanka where we can walk through. There we saw a large number of sambhurs. Passing a pool we travelled along the trail and reached Baker’s Falls. We were amazed by the scenic beauty. Then we reached the greater World’s End. This cliff is about 870m in height. Next we reached mini World’s End. It is about 270m in height. I won’t forget the wonderful atmosphere in Nuwara Eliya. The days we spent on this misty mountain will be remembered by me for a long time and the natural beauty hidden inside the thick blanket of fog will be remembered forever.

Nithula Subasinghe,
Grade 6A,
Vidura College,
Colombo.

Space travel

Winner:

For hundreds of years, people dreamed about travelling to outer space. The invention of huge rockets made travel a reality. An astronaut first went into space in 1961. Only eight years later astronauts landed on the moon.

Since then people have continued to explore space. The American astronaut Neil Armstrong, became the first person to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969. Armstrong's famous first words on the moon were “That's one small step for man, One giant leap for mankind.

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were the crew of Apollo 11. This was the first mission to land on the moon. Altogether, 12 astronauts walked on the moon as part of the Apollo program. They performed experiments and brought back moon rocks for study. No one else has ever been to the moon. The development of high powered rockets, such as this Saturn V rocket were the largest rockets ever built.

Sachini Rakshani
Grade 9 E
Pushpadana Girls' College,
Kandy.

My best friend at school

My best friend is usually my mother, but I have one other best friend in school. Her name is Prashani Anjalee. She lives in Gampaha. She is my closest and trustworthy friend at school and the most helpful and good friend I’ve ever met. She always does everything at school with me.

We have a strong bond which is a combination of true friendship and love. I feel lonely when she’s not present in school, even though I have other friends. Prashani always helps me in my studies as well as in every extra curricular activity.We have a lot of fun in school, while doing physical training every morning. I can’t ask for anything more from a friend. I like her honesty, pleasant attitude, kindness and helpfulness.

I am lucky to meet a good friend like her. I love my friend very much.

Ovini Charithma Weerasinghe