[Winner]
Poson Poya
Poson Poya is a sacred day for Buddhists. They go on pilgrimage to
Mihintale and observe sil and take part in religious activities.
Mihintale is a sacred place of worship for Buddhists. It is on a
rocky hill. The story behind its importance is that Arahat Mahinda met
King Devanampiyatissa at Mihintale.
The king was out with his courtiers on a deer hunt. It was a Poson
Poya day and he saw a stag and started chasing it in his horse. Suddenly
he heard someone calling him and he stopped. In the meantime the deer
had escaped.
The Arahat said that he was the son of King Asoka of India and that
he had come to propagate Buddhism. King Devanampiyatissa realised that
he had done something wrong. He regretted it.
The Arahat was able to change the king’s mind. After this meeting the
Arahat asked several questions to find out whether King Devanampiyatissa
was intelligent. The King answered well. Then the Arahat preached a
sermon to King Devanampiyatissa on the top of Mihintale. After hearing
the sermon, the King became a devout Buddhist.
Buddhists venerate Mihintale on Poson Poya day. Animals bought for
slaughter are set free. They are given to people to rear them.
Karikaran Rukshana,
Grade 8B (EM),
Tk/Ramakrishna Mission Maha Vidyalaya.
Harry Potter, a real hero
Harry Potter is a great character created by Joanne Kathleen Rowling.
The first book featuring this character was in Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone was published on July 30, 1991.
The Harry Potter series consists of seven books. They are Harry
Potter and the Secret Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of the Askaban, Harry Potter and the
Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter
and the Half Blood Prience and Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows.
All the stories revolve around Harry Potter. Ronald Weasley and
Herminne Granger. All the mysterious things start to happen after Harry
enters Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry.
Harry has a powerful opponent by the name of Lord Voldermort. Upto
June last year, around 450 million copies of Harry Potter books have
been sold.
There are four houses in Hogwarts. They are Slytherin, Ravenclaw,
Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Harry and his friends belong to Gryffindor
House.
J.K. Rowling is an English writer who lives in the UK. There are many
emotions and writing styles portrayed in these books; fantasy,
young-adult fiction, mystery, thriller, love and happiness are the genre
of this series of books.
There is another fascinating character in all these films. Can you
guess who it is? Draco Malfoy, Tom Felton gave life to Rowling’s Draca
Malfoy. Millions of people all over the world, love these books and
films. I too, love the series. We all love Harry Potter!
Zahara Rasheeda Junkeer,
Grade 9D,
St. Anne’s Balika MV, Wattala.
[Winner]
Value of newspapers
Newspapers are an important printed source of information which is
useful to us. Editors gather information from television, telephone,
radio and internet. Newspapers update news on a daily basis. There are
many daily and weekly newspapers in Sri Lanka. My favourite newspaper is
the Sunday Observer. I read it regularly. I have improved my reading,
writing and speaking skills by reading it. Likewise, all the other
newspapers help us.
Newspapers have many advantages. They give us information about daily
occurences both nationally and internationally. We get to know
information about all countries. There are many articles, competitions
for children, discussions, advertisements related to employment, other
occupations and death notices.
Newspapers improve the knowledge of readers. It also protects the
nation from being attacked by giving information about the country and
its ability . It can lead people on the right path. Children and young
learners can get to know about inventions, research and it is useful for
school lessons. Newspapers are an useful form of the print media.
Althaf Hussain Asiya,
Grade 7,
Malwana International School, Malwana.
A country I like to visit
I like to visit France. Its capital city is Paris. There are many
beautiful places to see in France.Cheese and wine are famous for its
quality in France.
The official language of France is French. The national day of France
falls on July 14. The colours of the French flag are blue,white and red.
The currency of France is Euro. The Eiffel tower in Paris is very
popular. I hope to visit France one day. It is a nice country.
H.G. Chathumi Sandanima,
Grade 7,
Sussex College,Matara.
[Winner]
The elephants
Elephants live in jungles and forests. They eat fruits, vegetables,
coconut leaves and leaves of other large trees such as breadfruit.
They have a long trunk and a big pair of ears. Some elephants have
tusks and they are called tuskers. They have large feet which makes
large footprints on the ground. They also have large stomachs which make
them look much bigger than they really are.
Elephants are calm and quiet. Sometimes they are arrogant and harmful
to people and destroy houses and their harvest. Many elephants are used
in circuses, peraheras and elephant shows. They are dressed and
decorated when they are taken to parade in peraheras. They walk
majestically but at times dangerous.
Nimadith Sanska Wanninayake,
Grade 5B,
Wycherly International School.
[Winner]
My favourite book
I have a huge collection of books. Of them, my favourite book is
‘James and the giant peach’. The author of the book is Roald Dahl. My
mother presented it to me on my seventh birthday.
The cover of the book is colourful and it is illustrated by Quentin
Blake.This book is a novel. The story is about a giant peach. The main
characters in the book are James the boy, characters of animals and
James crazy aunts. My favourite character is James.
I like this book because it tells a funny story. I will never forget
the story in this book.
Amiru Koralage,
Grade 4,
St. Sebastian's College,
Moratuwa.
My pet
My pet is a cat. It looks like a cotton ball. It is brown and white.
Its name is Kitty and it is very innocent. It likes to eat fish and
drink milk. He plays with me everyday.
Kitty has a bushy tail and blue eyes. He is happy all the time. He
has small ears and his tongue is pink in colour. He loves to bathe.
He does not fight like the cats. He is afraid to walk in the dark. My
Kitty is very kind. I love it very much.
Natasha Sonali,
Grade 4B,
Royal International School,
Kegalle.
My teachers
Many wonderful teachers taught me. They worked hard to teach us.
Their dedication was marvellous. My teachers did not care about their
time and energy. I am good in my studies due to the teachers whom taught
me.
I am ever thankful to my teachers and I will never forget their
services. Keeping all of them in my mind,one day I will work for the
people in need after I become a doctor.
D.Majurika,
Grade 6,
V/Nedunkerni M.V, Nedunkerni.
The discovery of penicillin
People are used to antibiotics these days. Antibiotics are a range of
medicine that we often come across.They are used for treatment for many
illnesses ranging from the common cold to near fatal injuries.
The first antibiotic was penicillin. It became popular in the early
1940s. The story between the initial discovery of penicillin is funny
indeed.
The scientist who earned the honour as the father of penicillin was
Alexander Fleming. He was a scientist at St.Mary's Hospital, London.
During the early stages Fleming had earned a reputation as an
absent-minded scientist. In 1928, Fleming as usual went on a long
vacation leaving the specimens he workedexposed. On his return after a
month he found that his culture plates were infested with a fungus.
Although the fungus was not something Fleming had studied, he carefully
observed that inhibited the growth of bacteria. Fleming realised that it
could be an important observation.
He isolated an extract from the mould that may have had this
inhibiting property. He named it penicillin.Fleming was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Physiology for the discovery and development of
penicillin.
Thiviru Hapangama,
Grade 8B,
Vidura College, Colombo. |