Winner:

What leads to road accidents

This is a very timely topic to focus our attention on. Many people die due to road accidents while many more are seriously wounded. We can prevent these unfortunate accidents from taking place if we show caution. To begin with, I will enlighten you about the rules for pedestrians. They should always use the right side of the road when walking. They must use the pedestrian crossings or underground crossings. They should not run on or across the roads. They must walk single file. They have to know the road rules as well as the road signs. Pavements or footpaths have to be used when available.

Next I'll educate you on the rules governing motorists and passengers. Motorists should drive their vehicles on the left side of the road and only use the right side when they need to overtake or turn right. They should always drive carefully and not exceed speed limits. They should drive slowly near schools and hospitals too. They must pay attention to the condition of their vehicles and check especially if the brakes are working. They must also follow road rules and traffic signals. Passengers shouldn't get on or off from a moving vehicle. Even when getting off a parked vehicle, it's best to get off from the side which is away from oncoming traffic.

Accidents occur mostly when road users don't follow these road rules or sometimes when the condition of the roads and vehicles is not good. Drunken drivers and bad weather conditions too lead to such accidents. So, everybody should follow road rules and maintain their vehicles properly. Then we can prevent many road accidents.

W.P. Mahesha Harshani,

Ananda Balika National

College,Polonnaruwa.

Winner:

My hobby

I enjoy reading books and magazines. It is my hobby. I read fairy tales, fables, folk tales and short stories.Cinderella is a very fascinating fairy tale I have read. I love to read this story again and again. Sleeping Beauty is another beautiful fairy tale. It tells us about a beautiful young princess. Fables tell us "funny stories" and teach us many good lessons. The foolish tortoise, The mouse and the lion, The tortoise and the hare, The hungry fox and the bunch of grapes are some fables.

I like to read because I gain a lot of knowledge and understanding from doing so. I totally agree with the popular saying "Reading maketh a full man".

Maythaf Iqbal,

Grade 8 E,BMGC.

Winner

Examinations

Oh! This examination

Bringing so much tension

Why such a botheration?

Is it for the younger generation?

Oh! maths with calculations,

Chemistry with its combinations

Physics with its formulations,

Bio with its observations,

It stops our imagination

Without any recreations,

It gives our wings of imagination

A gloomy formation

Yes, please wait examination

To quench your thirst, I have preparations.

Akila Heenpelle,

Grade 6,

St. Nicholas College.

Winner:

Value of English

English is the language that has pride of place over all the other languages in the world. It is the most widely used language; the international language. In countries like USA, England and Australia, English is the mother language. But in so many other countries it is used as the second language.

By learning English, you can gain a lot in life. It is said that 'English exposes you to the world'. It means you can use English as a medium of connecting with other countries of the world and learning many things'.When you work with the Internet, phone and many other communication systems you would understand that English is very essential. For instance if you have to talk with someone from another ethnic group who is not familiar with either Sinhala or Tamil when you are abroad, the language you'll use to communicate with that person is English.English is one of the main subjects that students should learn at school. It is very important to learn English because Sri Lanka too is a country that has several ethnic groups living in it and we can use it as a link language to communicate with them and also those living in foreign lands.

If we can communicate with each other, we can create a peaceful environment. It will promote the success of any country.

Harshani Jinanjali

Wijethunga,

Grade 9 G,Mahamaya Girls

College,Kandy.

Your poems

Winner:

Let's protect Mother Lanka

In our little island,

Everything is beautiful,

Mountains so high covered with mist,

Trees full of leaves and evergreen,

Flowers in rainbow colours,

Sky as blue as blueberries,

Clouds so fluffy and white as cotton wool,

Forests with colourful birds and animals.

Copper coloured sand, full of shells,

Waterfalls reminding us of a bride's veil,

With so much natural beauty,

How lucky we are to live,

In this paradise isle,

A precious gift from god above,

Let's protect our motherland,

And make it more beautiful than ever!

Sajani Nihara Fernando,

Grade 6, St. Bridget's Convent,Colombo 7.

A trip to Kithulgala

I went on a trip to Kithulgala with my mother and some of her friends who travel in the train with her. We travelled by bus and commenced our journey from Madampe at 6.00 am. On the way, more of my mother's friends joined us.

We travelled through Ja-Ela, Nittambuwa to Avissawella, then to Ruwanwella, Karawanella and to Kithulgala.

We sang songs and enjoyed ourselves. We had breakfast at Nittambuwa and reached Kithulgala by lunchtime.

The hotel we had lunch at in Kithulgala was very large and beautiful. The river which was closeby was also picturesque, flowing with a whitish veil, making a gurgling sound. We bathed in the river.

There were stony places and very shallow places in the river. There was an intermediate forest too fed by the river.

Huge mountains were on either side of the river.

We enjoyed our trip very much and left Kithulgala by 6.15 pm after having tea there. We reached home by 11.45 pm.

S. Nimasha Senanayake,

Grade 9-4,Holy Family

BV,Wennappuwa.