Winner:

The happiest day in my life

The happiest day was on my birthday. When I woke up early morning I found presents on the breakfast table. They were nice and useful. Everyone was waiting to wish me “Happy birthday and Many happy returns of the day.”

After breakfast all of us went on a small picnic. My father took a day’s leave and joined us. My aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and family members joined the picnic.

First we went to a beautiful park called “Green Town.” It looked almost like a dense forest. There were many trees, creepers, flowers, animals and birds with colourful feathers. We played many games in the woods and enjoyed ourselves. We gave some bananas to monkeys.

Finally we went to see a large tank. It looked somewhat like an ocean. After a bath we had lunch. We played chess on the grassland. Then it was time for our departure.

When we came home there was a big birthday cake for me. It was a surprise. My father took many photographs.

It was the happiest and most unforgettable day in my life.

A. Bhagya Dhananjalee Athukorale,
Grade 8A,
Parakramabahu National School,
Polgahawela.

Winner:

My brother

My brother is Prakash. He is nine-years-old. My brother is in Grade three. He lives in Bentota.

He goes to Ga/Gamini National School. It is in the Galle district. He can study well. His class teacher’s name is Champika Priyanthi. He is a good student in school.

His favourite food is rice and curry. He likes to drink milk. His favourite vegetable is onions and he loves to eat black berries. He likes to watch the TV program ‘Nanasa.’ His hobby is gardening. He is a good runner.

His ambition is to be a doctor. I love my brother.

M.K. Akash Himantha Alutgama,
Grade 4,
Gamini National School,
Galle.

Winner:

Endangered species of animals in Sri Lanka

There are a lot of endangered species of animals in Sri Lanka. They live in the jungles and the sea. Some endangered species of animals in Sri Lanka are the Asian elephant, blue whale, fin whale, jungle shrew, kelart’s long-tailed shrew, purple-faced leaf monkey, Sri Lanka long-tailed shrew and Eurasian otter. Some common endangered animals are the king fisher, yellow bird, sloth bear, giant squirrel and turtle.

Lories is one of the endangered species of animals in Sri Lanka. There are only 1,500 lories living in the island. They live in the jungles. They are nocturnal, slender animals endemic to Sri Lanka.

There are many endangered butterflies. The Ceylon rose butterfly is an endangered butterfly. If we see a Ceylon rose butterfly anywhere, we can be assured that place is an undisturbed place.

If all the above animals are endangered, they will be extinct from the world one day. We should protect them by not destroying the jungles and put a stop to environmental pollution.

We have a duty to protect animals.

Dewni Thathsarani Subasinghe,
Grade 9,
Visakha Vidyalaya,
Colombo 5.

Winner:

An unforgettable day in my life

It was a happy day for me, as it was my first day in school. My mother got up early in the morning and made milk rice. She woke me and gave me bed tea. Then I took a wash and I wore my new uniform. I ate milk rice which my mother had prepared. I worshipped my parents and got their blessings and left with my father.

As I entered the school premises, I saw many classrooms, teachers and children. Then we went to the office and my father got me admitted to the school. My classteacher came and took me to my new class. My class was grade one and my teacher was kind to me andshowed me where I have to sit.

During the interval, I played with my new friends.

They were very happy and I enjoyed talking and playing with them.

The bell rang at 12.30 p.m. and my father came to pick me from school. After coming home, I told my mother about the school, my teacher and how I enjoyed myself with my new friends.

It was an unforgettable day in my life.

H.G.Chathumi Sandanima,
Grade 6,
Sussex College,
Matara.

Winner:

Dumbara mats

The village of Dumbara is famous for mats in our country. It is situated in the Central province. The main occupation of the women in the village is weaving mats.

They use leaves of palm trees and some kind of trees which grow in marshy lands and the leaves of Watakeyya bushes.

At first, they cut the trees and tear the leaves into small strips. After that they boil them in water. Then they dry them and add various colours such as red, pink, brown, purple, green, yellow and blue.

They weave mats using different designs and patterns. Some of them are animal figures such as peacocks, elephants, deer, tigers and reptiles. They design dancers, soldiers and imaginative figures too.

Weaving mats is a handicrafts which brings our country a lot of local and foreign exchange. As Sri Lankans, it is our duty to protect and promote such an industry because it is an industry that comes down from generation to generation.

Naleem Ismail,
Grade 11A,
Oxford English College,
Alutgama.

My favourite bird

My favourite bird is the parrot. It is green. It has a red beak. It has a beautiful necklace too.

The parrot can talk. It is kept in a beautiful cage. I love my parrot a lot.

P.K.S. Maduranga,
Grade 6D,
Walagedara Maha Vidyalaya.

Sunday School – A fountain of virtue

Every Sunday morning we wake up with good and happy thoughts. We wear the white national dress, pick some flowers and go to the Dhamma school (Sunday School).

A feeling of relief and calmness prevails in our minds as we step into the Dhamma school. As we listen to the chief incumbent delivering the morning Anusasana we tend to lead a better life.

We worship the Buddha during the morning pooja with dedication and loyalty. It calms the stressful mind. We are taught to be kind to others. We are also taught good morals to lead a virtuous life.We are lucky to have institutions which help us develop virtue to be virtuous and respectable citizens.

Dulshara Nirmani,
Brilliant Stars International School,
Matara.

Perfume Production

The production of perfumes were an art and an industry from early days. There are several references in the Bible regarding the use of perfumes such as sweet cinnamon, calamus and myrrh.

Moses was commanded to “take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbaum; with pure frankincense” and to make perfume out of them.

S. Pradeep Kumar,
Grade 7,
Seevali Maha Vidyalaya.