Winner:

Freezing in Scotland

A year ago I travelled to the United Kingdom and spent some days in Scotland. It was an amazing experience.Scotland is always very cold, it is 16 Celsius. Other than Scotland’s freezing temperature even walking around the town is fun. Scotland is full of greenery, lush forests, beautiful lakes and ponds.

One of the most interesting things in Scotland is the “Loch Ness Lake”, home to one of the greatest mysteries; the lake monster Nessie.Legend says that Nessie is a prehistoric dinosaur which went to the Loch Ness in Scotland during pre-historic times by the movement of the earth’s plates.

It is believed that the monster travels through underwater caves. Another interesting sight in Scotland is “George Heriot’s School”.Yes, it is a school, but the twist is that the school looks just like Hogwards in Harry Potter. In fact the school was the inspiration for Hogwards.Right next to George Heriot’s School is a graveyard with a man named, “Thomas Riddle” or popularly known as Lord Voldemort who is buried there.

But if you are going to visit the graveyard, it is best to go with a group in the morning because the graveyard is said to be haunted. It has the most supernatural occurrences! Besides you can visit Edinburgh, the world’s most interesting city with performers at every corner.You are bound to have a great time with musicians, graffiti artists, stuntmen and dog trainers and you will never be bored!

Scotland is the best place I have been to and it was an unforgettable experience!.

Joel Fernando, Grade 6A, St.Nicholas’ International College, Negombo.

Winner:

Health is wealth

Good health is a great asset. It is the most valuable treasure a man can have.People with good health often do well in life. Everyone of us likes to be healthy. We feel quite uneasy and unhappy when we are not in the best of health.

We do not feel like enjoying anything at all. When we are ill, we lose our appetite for food and life becomes a hassle.

What leads to illness? It is germs which cause us to be ill. Germs are very tiny living organisms.

They are so small that we cannot see them with our naked eyes.They are everywhere; they grow and multiply in the air,the water and dust.

We always inhale the air filled with germs. We use water for drinking, bathing and cooking. The dust is always there on our hands, face and clothes. The germs get into the body through air, water and dust. They find their way into our bodies through cuts and wounds too. Then they spread disease and we fall ill.

Shirleen Dhanushka, Grade 9 B, St. Anne’s Balika Maha Vidyalaya, Wattala.

Winner:

The Apsara paintings

The most famous features of the sigiriya complex are the fifth century paintings found in a depression on the rock face more than 100 metres above ground level. Reached today by a modern spiral staircase, they are but fragmentary survivals of an immense backdrop of paintings that once extended in a wide band across the western side of the rock.

The painted band seems to have extended to the north-eastern corner of the rock, covering an area nearly 140 metres high. As John Still observed,” The whole face of the hill appears to have been a gigantic picture gallery, the largest picture in the world perhaps”.

All that survives of this great painted backdrop are the female figures preserved in two adjacent depressions in the rock-face known as ‘ Fresco pocket A and Fresco pocket B’. Three other depressions such as Fresco pockets C, D and E higher up the rock-face also contain patches of plaster and pigment. Traces of plaster and pigment elsewhere on the rock- face provide further evidence of the extent of the painted band.

They represent apsaras or celestial nymphs, a common motif in the religious and royal art of Asia. The Sigiriya paintings have been the focus of considerable interest and attention in both ancient and modern times. The poems in the graffiti on the mirror wall date back to the sixth to the 13th or 14th centuries are mostly addressed to the ladies in the paintings who seem also to have been studied and reproduced in the 18th century by the Kandyan artists.

The first proper description in the 19th century is based on the examination of the paintings by telescope from the plain below. The first person in modern times to find his way into the fresco pocket and come face to face with the paintings was an engineer named Murray of the Public Works Department. He made tracings, copied them in pastel and printed a paper in 1891.

F. Aysha Rasheed, Grade 10B, Amana International School, Kolonnawa.

Winner:

The importance of reading

“Reading maketh a full man”, said Sir Francis Bacon. Reading is especially important to children. We can read books, newspapers and magazines. We must read good books which are suitable for our age. Reading keeps our mind healthy and it gives us knowledge. Reading helps us to concentrate too. Fables such as “The foolish turtle” and “The lion and the mouse” gives us good advice. Fairy tales inspire our imagination. Funny stories makes us smile when we are unhappy.

However, reading should not be confined to one or two subjects. We should read books on History, Geography, Science and Astronomy as they are very important. History tells us about the past and Geography about dams, rivers and countries. Science tells us about people, plants, experiments and scientists. Books on Astronomy tells us about the stars, the sun and planets. My hobby is reading and I like it a lot.

Kavithi Fernando, Grade 6C, Lyceum International School, Panadura.

Winner:

The most exciting holiday

I have had many holidays in my life. Of them the most exciting holiday I have had was the day I visited Mahiyangana.

On the day before my trip my mother set the alarm at 3 o’clock in the morning but the bell didn’t ring on the particular day. My mother got up at 4.30 a.m. She was very excited.

She woke us up and said that time was up and to get ready soon. She cooked rice and made pol sambol. My father cut the bread into slices and put them into a bag. My mother had already packed the things the previous night. So, it was much easier for us to get ready.

We had to get into the bus at 4.30 a.m on that day. My mother’s phone was ringing and that was her friend.She said that she was on her way and asked as where we were. My mother said we were at Alawwa but really we were at home. Finally we called a three-wheeler and put our bags on to it. Then we dressed and got into the three-wheeler and it reached Alawwa at 5.15 a.m. So, we were really proud and happy because the bus didn’t go away.

We saw the bus coming. Then we got into the bus and thanked God.Later my mother had told everyone what had happened in the morning. It was really a joke and then everyone started laughing. We reached Mahiyangana at 3 p.m. on that day. This day was the most exciting holiday I had.

D.K.Gavithri Dilesha Amarasinghe, Grade 11-P, Ke/Dudley Senanayake Central College, Tholangamuwa.

The Olympic games

The most famous sport event in the world is the Olympic games held every four years. The first Olympic game was held by the Greeks in 776 BC, in honour of the Greek God Zeus. It was held in Olympia in Greece. The ancient Olympic games was banned in 393 AD. The first modern Olympic games were started by the French educator and sportsman Pierrede Coubertertin in 1896 AD.

The games are now held in many countries. The Olympic flag has five interlaced rings on a white background.

The rings represent the five continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Australia. Some of the events in the Olympic are rowing, swimming, cycling, gymnastics, pistol shooting, field events and track events. Thousand of athletes from many countries participate.

In the past athletes only received a wreath of olive leaves, today they are given medals.

N. Arishragawendhra, Grade 6B-2, Belvoir College International, Colombo 4.

The country I like to visit

The country I like to visit is Switzerland. It is a very beautiful country in Europe.

The capital of Switzerland is Zurich. The Swiss take care of the environment.

Swiss people are famous for making watches. Swiss watches are very popular all over the world. Making cheese and chocolates are also popular industries in the country.

The mountains are covered with snow during most parts of the year. Skiing is a very popular sport in Switzerland.

Oshadi Kavindya Jayawardena, Grade 8-3, Viharamahadevi Balika Vidyalaya, Kiribathgoda.

A dream

I saw a dream about a world full of chocolates
A river full of chocolates
I float on the river of chocolates
There were clock towers everywhere
Made of sweets and chocolates
The flowers in the garden are made of
Ice cream and chocolates
There is a cottage made of
Sweets, ice cream and chocolates
All the things in a cottage are
Made of chocolates
Then suddenly I went up to a cloud
And I fell from it
I really fell from the bed
Then I thought I fell into a Big bag of chocolates.

R.L. Dinuki Hansani Wimalaratna, “Brilliant Stars” International College, Nupe, Matara.

My pet

I have a pet.
My pet is a dog.
Its name is “Bula”.
My pet is brown colour.
It has a beautiful tail.
It's favourite food is meat.
He is playful.
I love my pet very much.

S.K. Kavisha Hansani, Grade 6-A, WP/GAM/Siyane National School, Dompe.

My mother

My mother's name is Sajeera Jaseem. The word mother is the most beautiful word in the world. My mother wakes up early in the morning and makes tea for us. Then she prepares our breakfast. She works very hard throughout the day.

She provides us everything. My mother has two daughters Simaza and Himaza. We want our mother to protect us. She helps us in our school work.

She is very pretty, kind and generous. We worship our mother everyday.

I love my mother very much.

Jazeem Simaza Farveen, Grade 6C, P/Ulukkappallam MMV, Palavi, Puttalam