Winner:

Birds are a wonderful gift of nature. They make our environment beautiful. Birds are generally not dangerous. They are an attraction to locals as well as foreigners. Most foreigners love to watch birds in their natural habitat. That is why they make it a point to visit places such as Kumana which is a popular bird sanctuary in our country.

Even in national parks such as Yala and Wasgamuwa, there are various kinds of birds. It is said that there are about 417 species of birds in Sri Lanka.

There are many kinds of birds that migrate to Sri Lanka from other countries in the cold season. They fly back home after about six months, when the weather changes.

These feathered beauties of various species are facing danger because the habitats in which they live are not protected.

Some birds which are reared in homes as pets are talkative. They are a great pleasure to listen to and are loved by children.

Many kinds of birds come to our gardens. By putting bread crumbs and grains for them to eat and a bird bath for their use, we can encourage birds into our gardens.

It will become an interesting hobby to watch how these birds behave in the garden.

We should never harm birds. The environment in which they live too should not be disturbed or destroyed. We should grow plenty of flowers and fruits to help them survive.

Sadishi Doranegama,

Grade 8,

Girls' High School,Kandy.

My favourite sport

Winner:

My favourite sport is cricket. It originated in England many hundred years ago. Today cricket is played in many countries around the world.

There are two kinds of matches played in cricket. They are one-day internationals and Test matches.

My favourite cricket team is the Sri Lankan team.

Cricket is a team game. There are eleven players in a team. My favourite opening batsmen are T. M. Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya. My favourite opening bowlers are Nuwan Kulasekera and Lasith Malinga while my favourite fielder is Mahela Jayawardena. Kumar Sangakkara is my favourite wicket keeper and all-rounder is Angelo Mathews. My favourite skipper is of course Arjuna Ranatunga even though he's no longer playing cricket. There are also the T20 games, Asian Cup, IPL cricket and Hong Kong sixers. In the Asian region the strongest teams are Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.

The Hong Kong Sixers Cup was won by South Africa. I love the Sri Lankan cricket team very much.

Aadil Najumudeen,

Grade 9,

St. Sylvester's College,Kandy.

Our planet

Winner:

We live on a planet. It is called Planet Earth.

Our planet Earth goes round the Sun with seven other planets. They are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Mercury is the planet nearest to the Sun. Pluto which was once in the solar system, but was renamed as a dwarf star and not a planet, was the furthest from the Sun. The Earth is between the planets Venus and Mars.

The Sun and the other planets make up our solar system. The path of the planets round the Sun is called the orbit.

Have you seen something shining very brightly like a star in the sky sometimes before sunrise and sometimes after sunset? It is not a star. It is the planet Venus.

The Sun is the star closest to us. All the other stars we see in the sky, are very far away.

Pradeep Madushanka,

Grade 7,Giri/Dathawa Junior School.

The value of a library

Winner:

A library can be considered as a storehouse of knowledge. In dictionaries, the word 'library' has been defined as "a building or a room containing a collection of books."A library renders a great service to society. It plays a very important role in promoting knowledge.

There are many people who love reading and who have chosen it as their main hobby. But they cannot afford to buy books because the price of books is exorbitant. So when, one becomes a member of a library, he can borrow valuable books to read and return. A member can borrow two books and keep it for a fortnight. Libraries are particularly useful for poor children. Even people who are financially better off than others, cannot afford to buy all the books they require for their studies. However, if such students are members of a library they can borrow books and do their reference work using the books in the library.

A library is very useful for rural youth too. When they get used to reading, they will refrain from bad habits such as loitering and gambling.We, as children must cultivate this valuable habit of reading from our younger days. It is a good pastime and a great hobby.

An important fact that we should remember is that by reading, we can acquire knowledge and also mental satisfaction. Therefore, a library is a very important place in society.

Asjad Hilmy,

Al-Humaisara National School, Beruwala.

The country I would like to visit

Winner:

The country I would like to visit is England. The capital and largest city of this country is London. England is a part of the British Isles which is in the Atlantic Ocean. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the country. The Prime Minister is Gordon Brown. The world's famous Royal family lives in England.The Thames is the longest river flowing through England(346km)but the Severn is the longest river in the UK. The currency of England is the Pound Sterling. The National flag is known as St. George's Cross. The floral emblem of England is the Tudor Rose. English is of course the official language.England is a leader in pharmaceuticals, chemicals and technical industries like aerospace, the arms industry and software industry.The places I would like to visit in England are the ancient towers and castles and places such as the Buckingham Palace, the 'Big Ben' which is the largest clock tower in the world, botanical gardens and museums. I would like to spend an evening by the side of the River Thames. And last but not least, make a visit to the famous Madame Tussaud's wax museum, where we could see wax models of famous people. Many people migrate to England for their higher education because there are very good universities. One of the world's largest research libraries, the British Library, is in London. Many of the world's famous authors and poets had once lived in England. So, if I get a chance to visit England I would like to bring back lots of books from there.

If I get to visit England and see all the places I want to, it will be a dream come true.

Fathima Nazra Johar,

Grade 9A,Lindsay Girl's School,Colombo 3.