Winner:

The most interesting book I have read

My favourite book is Monte Cristo written by Alexandra Dumas. He lived in the 19th century. The main character is Edmond Dantes.

One day Edmond Dantes, a young French sea captain, went to see his father and Mercedes. The latter was his future wife. After a few days Edmond Dantes has his wedding. While the wedding was on four soldiers take Dantes because Danglars, Caderousse and Fernand wrote a letter that he has spoken to Napolean.

Dantes was arrested and put in jail. Dantes was imprisoned in Chatear’if. From the prison no prisoner came out alive. While he was in prison he became mad. Then he met an Italian prisoner, Faria who was a learned man.

He was always talking about his “treasure.” But he was not mad. There is a treasure buried in the island of Monte Cristo. One day Faria was ill and she told Dantes about the treasure. Dantes escaped from the prison in an exciting way.

Finally he finds the treasure and lived happily thereafter with his father and Mercedes.

Nilsha Jayawardena,
Grade 8,
OKI International School,
Wattala.

Winner:

Our school

Our school is Al-Manar International School. It is situated in Dematagoda, Colombo 9. It is a private school.

Sharifdeen is the founder of our school. There are two main sections. One is the boys’ section and the other is for girls. I am studying in the boys’ section. There is a big building which has five storeys. Every classroom has all the facilities.

There is a big library and we have lots of books to read. Some books are very interesting. We have a nice mini computer lab. We can use the computers during the computer period and we are fond of computer lessons.

There are 1,850 children and 23 teachers in our school. The Principal is Sharifdeen and our deputy principal is Jaya. Our principal is very strict and he maintains discipline among the students.

We have many sports such as swimming, cricket, rugby, badminton and football. Our cricket teams are Eastern Eagles and Western Lions.

We also take part in the sports meet. There are four houses, Musthariq, Athariq, Zura and Kamer. Special celebrations are held for the primary children every year in December.

I love my school very much.

Abdul Rahman Nazar
Grade 6B,
Al-Manar International School,
Colombo 9.

Winner:

The elephant

The elephant is the biggest animal on land. It uses its four legs to walk. It’s black or grey. The elephant is a herbivorous animal. It eats bananas and sugarcane. It has a long trunk to push the leaves into the mouth. It can carry heavy logs. It has two small eyes, two big ears and a short tail.

People take elephants in processions. There are many elephants in Pinnawala. You can see them in the Zoo at Dehiwala. You can watch elephants dancing at the Zoo at times.

Elephants are very useful animals. They do not have homes. They live in the jungle. When they hear a big sound, they make a noise. They give birth to young ones. Some elephants have tusks. They use their trunk to bathe.

Zainab,
Grade 5B,
Thihariya Islamic International School.

Winner:

Hans Christian Anderson

Hans Christian Anderson was born in Denmark in 1805. He was the son of a poor shoemaker. His father died when he was 11 years old.

He attended the City School for poor children when he was 14 years old. He left home looking for a job and he nearly starved because he had no money to buy food.

Later he got a Royal scholarship to study. He wrote 168 fairy tales and folk tales. These books are read all over the world. They are simple, humorous stories. Some of the tales are: The Tinder Box, Little Claus and big Claus, The travelling Companion and The Emperor’s New Clothes. They are very popular among children and adults. He died in 1875.

Ayesha Iromi,
Grade 8H,
Walisinghe Harischandra College,
Anuradhapura.

Winner:

I love table tennis

My favourite game is table tennis. It has been so from my childhood. I play this game actively. I have seen a lot of games in local and foreign countries.

I attend Swarnamali Girls’ College, Kandy. In our annual sports meet I show my ability in this game.

In Grade 6, I chose table tennis as a basket game. In January this year, I was the Champion for the under-15 age group.

I practise table tennis every Tuesday. It is a very interesting game.

I was selected for many tournaments and won some of them.

My coach, parents and friends give me all the strength and support.

I play the game while doing my studies well.

My ambition is to be a top table tennis player and serve the country as a coach for the future generation. Table tennis is known as one of the popular sports in the world.

S.M. Thamali Sewwandi Samarakoon,
Grade 8B,
Swarnamali Girls’ College,
Kandy.

My country

Sri Lanka is my country. It is an island in the Indian ocean.

Sri Lanka has many waterfalls, rivers and forests. There are many beautiful birds and animals in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is the home for Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and Burghers.

It has many natural resources.
It is a beautiful country.

I love my country very much.

Divyangi Sritharan,
Grade 2A,
St. Jude's College,
Kurana, Negombo.

The peacock

The peacock is a beautiful bird. It cannot fly. It is very cute.
It has lots of feathers.
Peacocks live in the jungle.
When they dance they are very pretty.
They like to eat worms.
I love peacocks.

Jayangi Samidini,
Grade 1D,
St. Nicolas International School.

Value of an award ceremony

A prize-giving or an awards day is held annually. Students of the school are appreciated for their work in all three semesters. We learn for three semesters and at the end of each semester we have an end of term test. If you fare well and get high marks teachers select the prize winners at the end of the year.

The prize-giving is the best way to appreciate a student's work. They can motivate themselves to do their work well. In my school, we can display our talents in sports activities such as netball, basketball, cricket, swimming and athletics. Those who are interested in ‘Fine Arts’ section can take part in western music, eastern music, Sri Lankan dancing and ballet.

Those who are interested in taking part in the band competitions can participate in the western or the eastern band. The school is where we can show our talents best. Our teachers and parents have done exceptional hard work in bringing us to the present day status. They are very happy and proud when we perform well.

Now there are special prizes for almost all extracurricular activities. This time, the Annual Awards Day for the years 2010-2011 was held at the Bishop's College Auditorium. The chief guest was Prof. Hemantha Senanayake, Dean of the Gynaecology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Chairman Post Graduate Institute of Medicine.

This time, I was awarded the Grade six 1st Prize. I received seven certificates and a special trophy for ‘Creative Writing’ in English.

Finally, I wish to thank our Directress, Principal, Deputy Principal and teachers who were responsible for making the prize-giving a success.

Janani Randhula Gajadheera,
Willesden College International,
Battaramulla.

Birth and death of a star

A star begins its life by the condensation of a molecular cloud due to a gravitational collapse. A molecular cloud is a large cloud which contains dust and gases such as Hydrogen and Helium. A cloud has many light years in length and width.

Due to the gravitational force, this cloud of dust and gases shrinks gradually and subject to rotate at high speed generating a great deal of heat and pressure.

Astronomers are of the opinion that real stars are formed from the inner core, while planets are formed from the outer disc. The planets revolve round the star.

Around it, the temperature is about 15,000,000 K ‘Nuclear Fusion’ starts, where small atoms collect together to form large atoms. Here there is formation of Helium atoms combining hydrogen atoms.

During the action of nuclear fusion it generates an enormous amount of energy, as well as pressure. The large amount of energy causes the star to shine brilliantly. This is the formation of a ‘real star'. Our sun is such a star. Vega Sirius, is another star at this stage.

A place where a star is born is called a Nebula. There is a nebula that can be observed with the naked eye in the sword of the famous Orion or Hunter constellation. It is called the ‘Great orion Nebula.’

Chantel Jo-anne.
Grade 9D,
English Literary Association,
St. Lawrence's Convent,
Colombo 6.