Winner:

Much of the air we breathe is polluted and at times it may even smell unpleasant.

Pollution can lead to health problems and cause irritation in the throat and nose. Lengthy exposure to certain types of pollution may cause serious disorders. After all, we do not know what harmful chemicals have got into the air.Cigarette smoke can pollute the air at home or the place of work. Scientists have shown that cigarette smoke not only damages the health of the people who smoke, but also the health of non-smokers who breathe in other people’s cigarette smoke. They are called passive smokers.

The air we breathe at school cannot be fresh. How fresh the air is depends on the immediate surrounding of the school. The air in an open country side is comparatively fresh and clean. Fresh air contains oxygen which we need to live. The air in towns and cities where there are lots of factories, industries and vehicles, contain many harmful substances and poisonous gases, thus polluting the air a lot. Petrol and diesel produce a number of chemicals. One is nitrogeon dioxide and the other one is carbon monoxide, a very poisonous gas. Air pollution is also a result of man’s wrongful acts and this can be avoided if we become sensible and act responsibly.

Praveenya de Silva,

Grade 8,Good Shepherd

Convent, Panadura.

Gardening - an enjoyable exercise

Winner:

Though we are small children at present we are the next generation. We have to be responsible for our country, tomorrow. Therefore, we must not only educate ourselves properly and be disciplined, but we must be completely healthy too to live happily for a long period. To be healthy what we must look into foremost is plenty of exercises, a balanced diet and good hygiene.

As it is important to do exercises at least once a week, we should choose a way to do it pleasurably. I believe that if one wants to do exercises without spending much, in a natural and advantageous way, the most helpful method is gardening.

In our leisure time we can do gardening which is more beneficial than going on long tiresome trips, playing computer games or hiking.

Gardening gives us plenty of opportunities to improve our health because it involves different kinds of exercises including stretching, bending and weight lifting.

Particularly, the ‘yard care’ tasks such as trimming trees and shrubs, digging, spading and tilling are good exercises to make our bodies flexible.

Similarly, when we are gardening our garden equipment turns into the equipment in a gymnasium. Then automatically our exercise machines will be the digger, shovel, spade, rake, lawn mower, and the wheelbarrow. The yard and the garden takes the place of the running track.

Like other types of exercises, gardening can help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as other health problems like heart diseases, diabetes and diseases, connected with lethargy and obesity.

Gardening is not only a means to protect our health, but also a form of self-employment. We can do gardening in our free time.

R. A. Tharaka Madhurangi,

Grade 8B, Rathnavali Balika Vidyalaya,

Gampaha.

My baby sister

I have a baby sister. Her name is Randi. She’s one year old.

Randi is very fair. She has tiny pink fingers and tiny pink toes. She likes milk.

She has a beautiful teddy bear. I play with her. My parents love her very much. I am very fond of her too.

My baby sister can say ‘mum! mum!

Kavisha Alagewatte,

Grade 2, Mahamaya Girls’ College,Kandy.

Your Poems

Winner:

Our sole hope,

‘Peace’

Oh, Peace!
You came.
Through a hard journey.....

We waited for you,
Until you came,
Our sole hope,
Finally you came...

The flowers bloom,
When the sun rises.
Stars give brightness,
When it gets dark.
Wind blows murmuring,
When summer time comes....

Now the Sri Lankans have
Happiness and joy,
Other than tears and sighs.

Dear ‘Peace’,
You blossemed like a flower in May,
You shone like a star in the sky,
You blew in like a friend in summer.

Our sole hope ‘Peace,’
You came and gave us a future...

W.M.G. Thilini Thusharika Ranaweera, Grade 11A, N/Poramadulla Central College, Nuwara Eliya.

Responsibilities of a teenager

Winner:

The word responsibility is used in many different ways. At times responsibility may even be defined as a burden. Responsibility to me is being truthful, trustworthy and having a willingness to take the consequences for your actions, like taking the blame for your mistakes. It is something we gain as we grow.

As we grow older, day by day and year by year, our responsibilities also grow. When we leave our teenage years behind us, we embark on a journey of self-discovery and independence.

The teenage years are a time of learning, understanding and recognising our responsibilities so that we could grow into successful adults someday. Though teenagers do not have the same responsibilities as adults, they do have very important roles to play, especially when taking decisions that involve the family.

Loving and respecting your parents' decisions can help your family members to become close and makes the family ten times stronger. Other than loving, caring and supporting one another, whether it may be family or friends, there is another extremely important responsibility every teenager should undertake; that's education.

Some children around the world are so unfortunate as to not be able to go to school, meet new people and have a chance to make a life for themselves. Those of us who are lucky enough to have this opportunity, should make the most of it and achieve high standards. We should make this our goal. Take this as a task, a responsibility to make ourselves successful in the future because we are the future.!

Saba Anas,

Grade 10 D,St. Lawrence's Convent,Wellawatte.

Food for health

Food is essential for our body. We cannot live without food. We need food for special purposes such as to build up the energy required to perform various functions and to sustain life; for growth, for the repair of damaged or injured body parts and for protection from diseases and infection.

There are six essential constituents called nutrients in our food, these are; carbohydrates, fats, proteins, mineral salts, vitamins and water. In addition, roughage (fibre) is another important dietary constituent, which is required to prevent constipation. Therefore, on the basis of their role in the body, food is classified into three groups such as energy giving, bodybuilding and protective foods.

However, even though our food contains all the nutrients, our body requires balanced quantities of different nutrients, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals for proper growth and maintenance. A lack of any one of these nutrients leads to poor health and makes us prone to diseases.

We have to be conscious about the food we eat and have a balanced diet to stay healthy.

W. G. Hiruni Shashi,

Grade 9D,

H/Dhammapala BMV,

Beliatta.