Expressions

Winner: My father

The person I like the most in my family is my father. The thing I like about him is his gentleness. He never beats me but only scolds me. My father has lots of patience. He also understands my feelings. He encourages me to read books. Everyday he asks me about the things that happened in our class. During the weekends we go on outings. I long for the weekends because I can talk to him about everything. He is my best friend because he knows all my secrets. I love my father very much and he loves me a lot.

Kavintha Dinushan,
Grade 8,
President’s College,
Maharagama.

Winner: Sun

The Sun is a star at the centre of the Solar System. It is by far the most important source of energy for life on Earth. It is a perfect sphere of hot plasma with an internal convective motion that generates a magnetic field via a dynamo process. About three quarters of the Sun’s mass consists of Hydrogen. The rest is mostly Helium, with much smaller quantities of heavier element, including Oxygen, Carbondioxide and Iron. Sun helps plants in photosynthesis. It also provides warmth to humans and helps with agriculture. The enormous effect of the Sun on the Earth has been recognised sicne early historic periods, and the Sun is worshipped by some communities.

V. Amshika,
Grade 7,
Lyceum International School,
Nuwara Eliya.

Winner: My favourite drink

My favourite drink is orange juice. It gives us Vitamin C. It is yellow in colour. My mother makes orange juice for me. I serve my friends orange juice.

Sethula Nethmira R. Wanigasekara,
Pre Grade D,
Louvre International School,
Pannipitiya.

Winner: My school

My school is Carey College. It is in Colombo. It is a big school. The Principal is Mrs. Hemamali Bibile. We have a big playground. The teachers are kind and helpful. There are about 1,500 students. We learn Sinhala, English, Maths, Computer Science, Environmental Studies and many more subjects. We can take part in cricket, chess, football, karate and volleyball as extracurricular activities. I will study well and become a good citizen.

Roy Gracious Fernando,
Grade 4,
Carey College,
Colombo 7.

Winner: Children hate tuition

The school is a place where children learn so many useful things. They gain knowledge from schools and it makes everyone disciplined and clever citizens. In the past we called it ‘Gurugedara’, but at present we call it school. But nowadays parents have doubts and think that the knowledge given by the school to children is not sufficient. They send their children to tuition classes. Because of this little children do not have a childhood. They don’t know how to play, dance, sing and to have fun. They only know to learn like machines. Children need to have a childhood, and we need loving, kind, calm, patient and intelligent individuals. We don’t want people who are like machines. We want good people who touch others' hearts. Schools must provide a good education to students so that tuiton classes are not necessary.

Pinsarani Senaratne,
Grade 9,
Holy Family Convent,
Kurunegala.

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is a great English writer. He was born in Portsmouth, England on 7 February, 1812. When Charles was a little boy his father was sent to prison for debts. Charles gained good experience during his childhood. His education was interrupted and he experienced the unhappy life of poor people. But Charles worked hard to gain knowledge. After a few years he learnt to write shorthand and became a news reporter. Charles used shorthand to record speeches and discussions in parliament and in other parts of England. A few years later Charles began to draw sketches and write short stories for weekly and monthly magazines. The Pickwick Papers was published in parts in 1836 and 1837 and it soon became popular. Some of the books written by Charles Dickens are Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop, Dombey and Son, David Copperfield, Hard Times, The Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations. He wrote all these books with his own life experience. He died in England on 9 June 1870.

Adithya Shenali Sooriarachchi,
Grade 8,
Yasodhara Vidyalaya,
Colombo 8.

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games originated in Greece in 776 B.C. The first modern Olympic Games were hld in Athens, Greece in 1896. The Olympic Games are held every four years. The first Winter Olympics were in France in 1924. This also takes place every four years. The city where the Olympic Games are held is called the host city. Women were not allowed to participate in the ancient Olympics. But in the modern Olympics women are allowed to participate. In 2008 the Olymics was held in Beijing, China. In 2012 the Olympics was held in London, England. In 2016 the Olympics was held in Rio de Janeiro. I hope that in the future the Olympics will be held in Sri Lanka.

D. Yasoj Shri,
Grade 7,
Digana International School, Kandy.

Protecting wildlife

In any country, beauty depends mainly on wildlife. Wildlife plays an important role in conserving the environment. Pure water and fresh air are very important for people's health. Some people cut down trees in forests and destroy the environment. We must teach the younger generation to protect wildlife and the environment.

B.W. Dilki Tishara Bogahawatta,
Grade 8,
R/Sri Valagamba M.V.,
Weligepola.

I am a bear

My name is Jimmy. I live in a cage in a zoo. There is a den in my cage, but I do not like to sleep in it. There are so many people walking past my cage and keep looking at me. So they laugh at me, specially boys. Sometimes they cannot find me, because I am black. So, they do not see me in my dark den. Many people bring bags and cameras. They take photographs of me. I do not like that because the light from the camera is very strong for my eyes. I often remember my life in the forest. It was very exciting and enjoyable. I played with my brother. We lived in a very big den. We went to the middle of the forest for honey. We had such fun climbing trees. While my father and mother were looking for honey, my brother and I played hide and seek. My father gave us a lot of honey. It was very tasty. I feel sad now because in the zoo I do not get honey. I do not have any bear friends here. The people say, “be careful, this is a very dangerous animal.” I feel very sad when I hear this. The cage is too small for me to live. I wish a kind person will take me back to the forest, but it is only a dream.

Kalanavi Pasindra Perera,
Grade 7,
Devi Balika Vidyalaya,
Colombo 8.