Let there be peace on Earth

Winner:

In the dictionary, the meaning of peace is given as a ‘situation or a period of time in which there is no violence or war.’ However, is this what we see in the world? Some might think that since there is peace in Sri Lanka why be worried about the state of other countries. No, we should worry because it is our world. “We are the world, we are the children, we are the one’s who make a better place”.

What we see around the world is war and violence. The world is in pieces today,not at peace. All kinds of wars are fought just to capture another’s land, destroy properties and kill people.

“War is unwanted.” The three letter word war should be erased from the dictionary because it is unwanted.

Peace can be made in the whole world by destroying war. Only then you, me and everyone else can live happily ever after. Peace can be achieved by holding seminars and meetings, via poster campaign distribution of leaflets, advertising and many other ways. I would like to stress once again that peace can definitely defeat war, so that we could live in harmony in the world as one family.

Abdul Maajid,
Grade 8,
Lyceum International School, Wattala.

We can learn from the ant!

Winner:

We have seen plenty of ants. In fact, we see them so often that we hardly take any notice of them. However, we could learn a lot from them if only we take the trouble to observe their lifestyle.

Ants live together in large numbers in a colony. Each member has a duty to perform. The ant colony continues to exist only if they carry out their duties properly. The first quality we can see in these tiny insects is their activeness. They are not lazy at all. So, the first lesson we learn from them is the importance of being active. In their lives, they do not have any time to waste. They cannot afford to be lazy like some humans.

We have also seen how a group of ants make a joint effort to carry a huge insect or some other type of food to store away as food for a rainy day . Sometimes the insects or what they carry is many times heavier than each one of them. But they never give up. From this we can learn the second lesson. They will keep on trying till they finally succeed. That is the value of team work. We can do any difficult task if we join hands and put our hearts and souls together, with a single aim in mind.

Sometimes we humans ,as the more intelligent group, may feel ashamed to learn from the tiny ants. However, we should not think so . We should learn even from the tiny ant for the well-being of ourselves and the entire nation.

It is a well-known fact that ants collect and store food. This way they always live prepared to face bad times. We must also learn this important lesson. Let’s save whenever we can and be prepared to face bad times.

This will bring us peace of mind. Even the ant works hard and saves for the future to ensure its peace of mind. So, why shouldn’t we?

M.B. Bimaya Tharuka,
Grade 8A,
Negombo South International School.

The dawn of a new life...

Winner:

It’s the dawn of a new year
And the beginning of new life
Which reminds you not to fear,
As to what you should decide.
Have you not had dreams,
That brings success to your future?
Wishes are useful as it seems,
But risky, ‘cause when dropped, you’re tortured.
I wish to have a future
Full of success and pleasure,
Being a naturalist is what I prefer,
For the knowledge of nature is the greatest treasure.
Facing challenges is adventurous,
For freedom is what I most crave
The world is most treacherous
Its secrets are what I’ll often fear.
My views will be on wonders,
Of both plants and animals,
It’ll make me independent
And give a feeling of success.

Sharika Hafeez,
Grade 7E,
Badi-ud-din Mahmmud Girls’ College,
Kandy.

Ecosystems and food chains

Winner:

An ecosystem is a self-supporting distinct system of organisms that are interacting with each other, and also with the environment. There are four main components of an ecosystem. They are producers (mainly plants which photosynthesise and make food), consumers (animals), decomposers and a physical environment.

Producers are mainly plants. They make food in the process of photosynthesis. They trap sunlight with the help of chlorophyll present in the leaves. Water is gained from the soil and carbon dioxide is gained through the stomata (small holes on the underside of leaves). With all these components, food is made in plants.

Consumers are mainly animals which depend on other organisms for food. They either eat plants or other living animals. All animals are dependent on plants for food directly or indirectly. Decomposers decay dead material and help to recycle nutrients. Bacteria and fungi are the main types of decomposers.

A physical habitat is the total of the ecosystem's non-biological components, such as the soil and air in a forest or the water and soil in a pond. There are also many interactions in ecosystems.

The feeding of organisms, interactions between organisms and the environment and competition, among organisms are included in the interactions.

The food chains are the simplest ways of showing feeding relationships within an ecosystem. There are many stages in a food chain. They are the producer, primary consumer (a herbivore eats only plants), secondary consumer (a carnivore eats only animals), a tertiary consumer and quaternary consumer. A quaternary consumer is also called a top carnivore, because no one eats it.

When many food chains are joined together they form a food web. The flow of energy in an ecosystem is shown in an energy flow diagram.

The carbon cycles, nitrogen cycle and the water cycle are all involved with the ecosystem. We humans should try to give up the harmful influences that we make on the environment and ecosystems.Let's protect ecosystems!

Janani Randhula Gajadheera,
Grade 11,
Willesden College International,
Battaramulla.

Importance of protecting coral reefs

Winner:

There are lots of forests in many different countries. In Sri Lanka too there are many forests and wildlife parks such as the famous Sinharaja Rainforest and also Yala and Wilpattu wildlife sanctuaries. Have you heard of some different kind of forest that is not located on land? It is the “little Sinharaja” at the bottom of the ocean. What exactly is it? It is a beautiful and marvellous creation of Mother Nature. It is the coral reef beneath the ocean.

Coral reefs are very important to us because they protect our beautiful island and also make our country popular as a tourist destination. Coral reefs reduce the beach area from being washed back into the sea. However, people mine corals for different reasons and destroy these beautiful reefs.

Today coral reefs are vanishing swiftly in many parts of the world. Sometimes the release of different chemicals into the sea also destroys corals. In Sri Lanka the Hikkaduwa coral reefs are famous.

We have to protect our beautiful ‘little Sinharaja’ in the ocean as our life.

Naomi Thamasha,
Grade 7, Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya,
Colombo 7.

My family

There are seven members in my family. They are my parents, grandparents, sister, brother and myself . We all live together.

My mother is a teacher and my father is a doctor. They work hard to earn money for the family. My grandmother helps me to do my studies well. We help each other a lot and live happily together.

Buddira Hashen,
Grade 3A,
Royal International School, Kurunegala.

My playmate...

I have many playmates and one of them is my cousin sister. She is from my home town. Therefore I cannot meet her everyday since I live in Colombo. I go to my home town only once a month. She lives in my house because her father sold their house. So, I don't need to travel to her house any more. She is short and thin. She has short hair too. She is very kind. We play a lot. Sometimes we cook for fun. I wish I could stay in my home town and play with her forever. But my school is in Colombo. So I cannot stay there. But now my father says that my he may have to change my school .

Then I wish that I could go to the same school my sister attends . Then I could play with her forever and ever.

My cousin sister Siri is very kind and I love her.

Janushayan,
Grade 5A,
Colombo British School.