Winner:

The book that I love most

The massive saga, The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie, is a riveting mystery that draws you into the depths of its web of secrecy and horror. From mysterious events of table-turning to the blood-curdling murder of a captain, the reader remains fascinated and enthralled, wanting for more.

It focuses on the murder of a so-called captain Trevelyan by a mysterious killer. There are various suspects - starting from Mrs Willett, who had come to Dartmoor without a valid reason. Then there is his nephew James Pearson, who is suspected to be the last person his uncle saw, before being sandbagged.

Finally, the daring young Emily, James’s fiancee succeeds in pointing out John Burnaby and has him arrested. This thrilling mind-blowing mystery by the ‘Queen of Crime’ has always been m y favourite.

Tarny de Alwis, Grade 10, Lyceum International School, Panadura.

Winner:

My school

The name of my school is Kottawa Dharmapala Maha Vidyalaya. It is a very large school. Our principal is Y.A. Yasarathne. It is a government school.

There are about 3,000 children and 250 teachers. There are many buildings in the school for extra-curricular activities. The school has a library, science laboratory, IT laboratory and a swimming pool.

There is a big playground and a volleyball court. I love my school very much.

W. Wanshaka Kenula, Grade 6B, Dharmapala Maha Vidyalaya, Kottawa.

Winner:

My ambition and aim

An aimless life has no purpose. Such people are losers without a destination. They do not achieve anything. People have diverse ambitions and aims. Some aim at wealth, while another at power and some at education.

My aim is to be a teacher and serve the country. This is my great wish and dream. Although I am an eleven-year-old girl, I still dream of becoming a teacher.

I want to teach various subjects such as religion, education, moral, science and cultural studies. Though I am not the first in class, I try to teach some of my friends. I tell them stories and make them laugh.I have a great desire to become a good teacher. I hope I could fulfil my ambition.

Aysha Amnah Alavee, Grade 6T, Kandy Girls’ High School, Kandy.

A trip to Yala

One day I went on a trip to Yala. We enjoyed it. We also saw, elephants, pigs and monkeys. I photographed them.

My mother, father, brother, relations and I stayed at a safari bungalow.

I will never forget this trip as I enjoyed it very much. I like to visit Yala again with my parents.

Chathma Bisheka Lewandi Fernando, Grade 6-O, Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo.

My sister

My sister's name is Ehansa. She is nine years old. She is very nice, fair and good. She helps me a lot in my studies.

She likes to drink milk and eat rolls. She likes to play with her Barbie doll. Her favourite cartoon is Barbie. She likes to study well and win medals. She is very happy when my mother gives her a Barbie doll.

She goes to school regularly. She wears nice clothes and goes everywhere. When I go with my grandfather she comes with us. She has nice hair and teeth. She likes to go to school and study well. She wants to be a teacher and help children to do their work.

K.H. Hansini Kemindi, Grade 3C, Lyceum International School, Panadura .












 

Winner:

My favourite television program

My favourite television program is Destroyed in Seconds. It is telecast on the Discovery Channel. It starts at 4 p.m. and ends at 5.45 p.m. It shows how a vehicle or a building is destroyed.

My cousin watches it too. It is a bit frightening. It shows how planes, helicopters, bicycles, cars and ships get destroyed.

The program is handled by John. It is really amazing! My mother also likes to watch it but she has no time to do so everyday.

I like this program very much.

Yasassri Vishmitha Jayawardena, Grade 4F, Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa.

Winner:

My fish tank

The length of my fish tank is 34 inches and the height is 15 inches. There are about ten fish in it. They are two gold fish, two gogalise, three oskas, sarigappi and the tank cleaner.

There are three sea stones in my fish tank and some artificial plants.

Sanuji Sanaya Welgama, Grade 5A, NCEF Buddhist College, Mulleriyawa New Town.

The seven great wonders

The seven great wonders in the world are the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall, the Colosseum, Pyramid, Petra, Taj Mahal and Christ the Redeemer.

The Eiffel Tower is in France.

It was the tallest structure in the world when it was completed in 1930. However, it was eclipsed by the Chrysler Building in New York City.

The Great Wall is in China. It stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Monglia.

This is made up of 6,259.6 km of sections of actual wall, 359.7 km of trenches and 2,235.5 km of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers.

The Colosseum is in Italy. It is also known as Roman Colosseum. It is a huge auditorium. It can accommodate 50,000 spectators. The Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. Apart from the gladiatorial games, other public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles and dramas based on classical mythology were held there.

The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent Euro coin.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is in Egypt. It is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necrapolis bordering what is now EI Giza, Egypt.

It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. There are three known chambers in the Great Pyramid, the lowest chamber is cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built and was unfinished. The so-called Queen's Chamber and King's Chamber are higher up within the pyramid structure.

The Petra city is in Jordan. It is a historic and archaeological city in the Jordanian governor of Ma'an that has rock cut architecture and water conduits system. It is a symbol of Jordan as well as it is the most visited tourist attraction. Petra was chosen as one of the new seven wonders of the world in 2007 and a world heritage in site since 1985. Petra was chosen by the BBC as one of “the 40 places you have to see before you die.”

The Taj Mahal is in India. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum in Agra, India, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Indian and Islamic architectural styles. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO world heritage site and was cited as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage.”

Christ the Redeemer is in Brazil. It is a statue of Jesus Christ. It is considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world. The statue stands 39.9 metres tall, including its 9.5 metre pedestal which is 30 metres wide.

It weighs 635 tons. It is one of the tallest of its kind in the world. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone. The construction took nine years to complete.

G.D. Rivin Nemsara, Grade 7A, St. Sebastian's College, Uyana, Moratuwa.

Honesty, love and affection

You enlightened my life,
With education.
You taught me,
Life's lesson
With, honesty, love and affection.
To see the minds of people,
Which are beyond their skin;
Their suffering,
And treat them with a noble heart.
Even an honest smile,
Can heal the torn hearts of many people.
Life is not fantastic as it appears,
It is full of thorny shrubs.
Honesty, love and affection,
Enable to enliven life;
To destroy the thorns;
To make our thoughts purified,
And, to live in satisfaction.
My heartiest gratitude,
To you, my dear teacher...

R. Ayesha Umayangani, R/Ferguson High School, Ratnapura.

Rain

The main source of water is rain. Water evaporates from the sea, oceans, rivers, streams, ponds, animals, plants and the wet surface.

When the water vapourises the air gets cool and tiny water droplets are formed. These water droplets form clouds. The tiny droplets get collected and form big water drops. When it is heavy the big drops of water fall on the earth as rain.

Shazna Shaul Hameed, Grade 6, Crescent Schools International.