The importance of success

Winner:

All men and women desire success, but only a few achieve it. They know the secret of success. It comes by hard work and perseverance. A person who is lazy cannot succeed. A lazy student can seldom achieve good results. If you are not prepared to work hard, you should not expect good results.

If we want to succeed, we must know the value of time. Lost time means a lost opportunity.

The punctuality and economy of time lead to success and happiness. Life is too short to be wasted. There is so much to be done. All great men and women have complained of brevity of life. One becomes great and successful just as one knows how to make the best use of time.

Bravery is in continuous hard work, perseverance, patience and oneness of purpose. Success follows the brave.

H. Dasuni Hansana Rupesinghe,
Grade 10F,
Sujatha Vidyalaya,
Matara.

The monsoons

Winner:

The wind blows right throughout the year. But, during a certain period of the year, it blows differently. In May, June and July the wind blows from the South-West direction bringing rain along with it. It is called the South-West monsoon rains.

In November, December and January, the wind blows from the North-East direction bringing in rain. It is called the North-East monsoon rains.

The South-West monsoon wind brings in rain to the South-Western shores and to the western slopes of the hill country.

The North-East monsoon wind brings rain through the North-Eastern shores, across the plains and to the eastern slopes of the hill country.

Aathika Nuhman,
Grade 5B,
Darul Uloom Academy,
Wellawatte.

Why we should learn English

Winner:

English is a world famous language. People speak and write English throughout the world. When we learn English we can communicate with them and travel to other countries without any fear. We can associate with many people from different countries closely.

In our schools we follow English as a subject. If we do not get a good grade for English at the GCE O/L examination, we will face many problems in the future.

If we have a good knowledge of English, we can do our higher studies easily. Today many subjects are taught in English at universities.

There are lots of valuable books, films, stage dramas and songs written in English. If we can read and understand English, we can understand them and gain knowledge.

Today there is a trend to learn and speak better English. If we cannot converse in English we will fall back in society. Due to globalisation we cannot do anything without computers as they are in English.

We have to have a knowledge of English to work on the Internet or Facebook.

These are the main reasons why we must learn English. Therefore, we must be fluent in English to live in present day society.

Thenuri Thihansa,
Grade 7,
Visakha Vidyalaya,
Colombo 5.

My pet

Winner:

I have a pet dog. Its name is Blacky. It has a bushy tail. When I return from school, Blacky comes running to me. It likes when I pat its head. Blacky comes and licks my feet.

I give him biscuits to eat. He loves to eat fish and drink milk. Every evening I play with Blacky. When I throw a ball it runs behind it and play with it. It loves to sleep on the rug in my room.

When he is hungry, he barks. Then I give him something to eat. It does not trouble me.

I like my Blacky very much and I look after him well.

G.R. Ruwasandi Thathsiluni,
Grade 7B,
Dharmapala Vidyalaya,
Pannipitiya.

Teen age - a time of change

Winner:

Teen age is the most enjoyable period in one’s life. It is the period between 13 and 19 years. It cannot be regained. Teenagers give prominence to their mental needs more than physical needs.

They are more fashionable and imitate others. There are various modes of fashion suitable for teenagers. There are particular designs for every occasion such as evening party wear and casual wear.

Teenagers are concerned about their hair styles and figure. They use various cosmetics such as lipstick, nail polish and deodorants.

They are innovative and want to do new things. Though it is their right to follow their own fashion, they should think of the culture of the country. While giving into mental desires, they should know their limits.

Dewduni Liyanage,
Grade 10C,
Maliyadeva Balika Vidyalaya,
Kurunegala.

A dream

I read books as a habit while being in my bed. On a particular day I was reading “Mystery of the spiteful letters” and all of a sudden I fell into a deep sleep.

Suddenly I saw Noddy, Big Ears, Fatty, Larry, Daisy, Pip and Bets. They came to meet me. They had fair skin and blond hair. They said, “Hello Sanduni” and I was surprised.

They asked me to join their adventure. We had a small discussion about our adventure. It was all about how to catch the person who writes spiteful letters to people. Fatty told me to disguise myself and go to see Mrs. Marley and Noddy to go as the butcher boy and to see Mrs. May.

Fatty found the culprit. Chief inspector Jerks appreciated our work. The hero was Fatty. I was happy because I like him. We shouted “Hooray! Hooray!” All of a sudden my mother tapped me and asked me as to why I was shouting. Then I realised that it was only a dream. I wished that it happened in reality.

Dasuni Herath,
Grade 5,
Hillwood College,
Kandy.
 

Whales, the gentle giants

Whales are mammals. They live in the ocean. They eat shrimp. Whales have a streamlined body. They are considered gentle giants.

Their heart is as big as a small car. They have a big layer of fat (blubber).

There are different kinds of whales such as Toothed, Baleen, Sperm, Killer, Pilot, Belunga, Blue, Humpback,

Bow head and Minkey whale. Whales have four limbs as fins, tail with horizontal flukes and nasal openings on top of the head. Whales live for a long time. The Bow head whale may live for over a century.

Whale hunting has gradually reduced their numbers.

We are lucky to have Blue whales in the west and south coasts of Sri Lanka.

Mihin Jayakodi,
Grade 3,
British School,
Colombo.

Let's not exploit nature

Trees, mountains, rivers and oceans are a part of nature which sustains human and animal life. We should not exploit natural resources.

If we do so, it is inevitable that natural disasters will follow.

Tharushi Bethmage,
Grade 9D,
Samudradevi B.V,
Nugegoda.










 

Newspapers, the main source of information

Newspapers are a great source of information. Though there are many sources through which we can gather information, nothing can beat the newspapers.

There are many newspaper organisations in our country. Newspapers are available in English, Sinhala and Tamil. The Lankadeepa, Silumina and Divaina are some of the Sinhala newspapers. The Sunday Observer, Daily News and Ceylon Today are some of the English newspapers. Thinakural, Veerakesari and Thinakaran are some of the Tamil newspapers.

It is said that “newspapers have something for all.” There are features, news, sports and entertainment. We can read newspapers during our leisure time. They help us to enrich our knowledge. Newspapers will remain forever as a source of information.

Amandi Panagoda,
Grade 8F,
Central College,
Piliyandala.