Winner:

My favourite sport

My favourite sport is cricket. It is an outdoor sport played between two teams. There are eleven players in each team.

The players have to use bats, balls, wickets, helmets, pads and guards to play the game.

One team bats first and the other team does the bowling and fielding.The batting team scores runs by hitting the ball with the bat. Then the team that bowled first bats second and tries to reach or surpass their opponent’s score.

If they score more than the opponent team’s runs they win the match. If they do not reach the runs they lose the match. I like cricket because it is very interesting to watch and play.

Abdul Majeed Mohamed
Ashmath Shahy,
Grade 7,
Ak/Add. MMV National School,
Addalaichenai.

Winner:

Dreams

Everyone has dreams in their life. It could be babies, men, women, beggars, young and old.These dreams differ when things change according to places, activities, situations, climate and weather.

What are dreams? We could say dreams are images and imaginary thoughts, sounds and voices which pass our mind when we are fast asleep.Dreams could include people you know or those you have never met before, places you have visited or those you have never heard about earlier.

Sometimes dreams could be something about what happened previously. They could be your darkest fears or some personal experiences.

It is believed that people dream about five to six times a week.Among these dreams there are nightmares. When people cannot understand terrifying dreams they call them nightmares. They say that these are messages from God.

Although we know what dream are, we still do not know why people dream.However, research shows that there is a psychological and physiological need to dream. Therefore, psychologists say that dreaming is essential for our mental and physical well-being.

M.H. Asma,
Grade 9,
K/Madina National School,
Madawala Bazaar.

Winner:

Child

One day I sat to think,
How it was to be a child
With curious questions in the mind
And answering them day by day
Walking through many obstacles
With sorrow and happy feelings
The child walks on and on
Till he reaches his goals.

M.M.D.C. Oshadhi,
Grade 9,
St. Thomas’ College,
Gurutalawa.

Winner:

Planet Earth

The planet we live in is called the earth. There are millions of planets in space, but life is found only on earth. The earth moves around the sun. It is called the revolution. It takes 365 days to complete one round.

The earth moves around its own axis too. It is called rotation. It takes 24 hours to complete one round. Planet earth is very beautiful. Different regions have different climates.There are rivers, seas, lakes, mountains and deserts on the planet earth.

The Nayagara Falls and Dunhinda Falls are some of the beautiful waterfalls.We can find thousands of animals on the earth. Man is also one of them. He is the wisest and at the same time he is the only animal that pollutes and destroys the earth.

R. Sushmitha Maduwanthi,
Grade 8,
Kelani College,
Kelaniya.

Winner:

Importance of learning English

English is our second language and we know it is important like our mother tongue. Learning English and using it in the correct way is important in our daily life.

A good command of English is the key to a better world of education and professional opportunities. A knowledge of English will broaden our future prospects.

Therefore, we are convinced that learning English is important for our own betterment.

One of the main aims of learning English is to do a good job. It is an added qualification to earn a better salary in your career. If our knowledge of English is good, it will be easy for our daily life.Some of them are to read the instructions on a label, to read a book or a magazine or a newspaper.Reading improves our speaking ability too. Unlike in villages if you don’t have a proper knowledge of English it is very difficult to use a computer to survive in the city.Speaking and writing is also very essential in English. There are people who cannot speak or write English.

People respect and admire those who speak in English. They consider them educated and respectable.

Reading is also important in English. Without a proper knowledge of English, reading will be difficult. Therefore, reading is very essential. Writing essays will also improve our English knowledge. English helps to maintain our social status and it will help us to achieve our goals in life.

Let's walk in a virgin forest

A virgin forest is one that is unspoilt by man. Such forests are rare indeed. However, if you walk in a virgin forest you will enjoy the cool breeze which stimulates your body. We will also hear the sounds of various creatures. We can watch varieties of flowers and smell their fragrance.

When we walk under huge trees, we feel the comfort of their shade. Trees are wonderful creations of Mother Nature.Birds, beasts and reptiles are the true owners of the virgin forest. Due to man's exploitation, natural resources are getting depleted. When man destroys nature it will affect us and our animal friends. Therefore, we must work to preserve nature. One way of doing so is to leave certain forest areas as they are.

In the past, there were plenty of forests in our small island. People knew the value of protecting forests. They treated forests as God and worshipped them. Our forefathers at that time never tried to destroy the environment. They never cut down trees for profit.

L.W. Tharindu Navod Deshan Wijesingha,
Grade 10C, Anuradhapura Central College,
Anuradhapura.

Charity begins at home

“Charity begins at home” is a popular proverb.
But have we ever thought about it?
Charity means kindness and sympathy towards others.
We all learn kind acts and have feelings towards others.
From our childhood our parents and grandparents teach us how to behave ourselves.
We must respect the advice we get from our elders and be kind and sympathetic to others.

As a result of industrialisation, we are surrounded by electronic equipment which tend to contaminate young children.
If we use them in the incorrect way, we could get into trouble.

Chirathma Hirudini,
Grade 9-F,
Sri Sumangala Girls’ School,
Panadura.