Never neglect your aged parents

Winner:

Today we see at every Elders' Home our elders spending the last days of their lives, in loneliness neglected by their children.

Some children when they grow up think taking care of their parents is a burden. Such people have forgotten what their parents had gone through and sacrificed to bring them up. They do not appreciate what their parents had done for them all their life. Have they forgotten the number of nights they kept awake with them when they fell ill and also the economic and other difficulties they faced to educate them and make them good citizens in society?

Children should bear in mind that their parents deserve respect, love and care for all what they have done for them when they were young.

So, when they become old, it is the duty of all children to help their aged parents and provide what is necessary to keep them happy. Instead of allowing them to spend their lives in elders' homes, they should be kept at home and cared for.

Children must remember that when parents grow old they become helpless almost like little children. They should not be pushed aside without being given love and care. Children should also remember that they too will one day become aged parents and would love to be respected and taken good care of by their children .

Anjali Vimashi,

Grade 10C,B/Little Flower

Girls' School,Bandarawela.

A trip to the zoo

My family and I went to the Dehiwala zoo in my uncle's van recently. We bought tickets at the entrance.

I saw posters warning us not to throw food and litter the zoo. I saw various coloured animals, birds, and fishes. I also saw a long snake called an anaconda.

We walked a long distance inside the zoo and so we became very hungry. We went to a pastry shop and ate. Then we walked around again to see the animals. We went to the aquarium too to see beautiful fish. We also saw an albino peacock, which was white in colour, a blue magpie which was very beautiful,lots of noisy macaws, geese, butterflies, otters, mongoose, monkeys and chimpanzees. It was a very joyful tour for me.

Ayodhya Kumari Bandara Ranasinghe,

Grade 7C, Ferguson High School,

Ratnapura.

My visit to Kandy

Winner:

The Grade 8 students of President's College, Homagama organised a one day trip to Kandy on September 5, last year. I also went on this trip which fell on my birthday.

It was an entrancing Saturday, filled with enticing events that delighted us. The bus came on time at dawn. The students all tried to get in at the same time and crowded round the bus, but we were prevented by our class teacher. Then we formed a queue and got in, one by one.

After we got in all of a sudden there came a huge thud from the rear seat. It was some of the students. 'Stop it' called out our class teacher. And immediately there was silence. After a little while we reassured them and then all stood up and began to recite the National Anthem. I could see a faint smile on our teacher's face.

The journey was full of jokes and interesting talk. We sang many songs and some danced. Amidst all this I never forgot to look at the passing scenery as I like to see various things on the way.

We stopped at Nittambuwa for breakfast. It was an open space where we could sit down and have our meals. We shared the food given by our parents to take on the trip. The memories of this will remain with me for ever.

After breakfast we resumed our journey and passed towns such as Kegalle and Kadugannawa. The famous bend at Kadugannawa is indeed wonderful. The road turns in the shape of an elbow. I noticed the driver making a special effort to turn the bus, at this point.

Finally we reached Kandy - the town of the Sacred Tooth Relic. The Temple of the Tooth or the Dalada Maligawa stood in the middle of the town, displaying its religious identity, amidst other buildings.

The feelings that came over me when entering the temple cannot be described. We worshipped the Sacred Tooth Relic and had a good look around. We saw the ancient photographs of the Temple of the Tooth. Buddhist monks described the history of the temple and the Sacred Tooth Relic to us.

We also visited the Natha Devale. We put panduru (coins) to the money box or pinketaya.

It was the first time that I visited the Temple of the Tooth Relic. So, I was amazed with the architecture and beauty of the temple. We worshipped at all the important places and started our journey back with the hope of visiting the temple again.

Thisarika Rasahari,

Grade 9A,

WP/HO/President's College.

Homagama.

Enjoy reading

Winner:

"Reading maketh a full man."

These precious words are enough to prove that books are highly valuable. World Literacy Day is celebrated on September 8, every year and the important role books play in man's education comes into focus. Books are full of facts that enrich our mind and enhance our knowledge. There are many types of books like short story books, encyclopaedias, autobiographies, and books on science, commerce, medicine, art, technology, maths, religion and so on.

In Sri Lanka there are many renowned authors such as Martin Wickremasinghe, Kumarathunga Munidasa and T.B. Illangarathna.

The history of writing is very interesting. Early Mesopotamians wrote on clay slabs and Egyptians wrote on strips of papyrus. Only after the Chinese people invented paper, scrolls and books came to be used. Ancient Sri Lankan writings were done on ola leaves.

We can read thousands of books in libraries. It is our duty to use these books with good care. Interesting books take us to a fantastic world. So, friends let us cultivate the habit of reading and enjoy books.

Bhagya Pandithakoralege,

St. Bridget's Convent, Colombo 7.

Amazon rainforest is amazing

Winner:

The Amazon rainforest is a marvellous world heritage. It is surrounded by many countries such as Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia and Guyana. Most of the people know this forest as 'Amazonia'. This is not only a resource to South America, but also to the whole world and that is why it is a world heritage.

It is a moist broad-leaf forest that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. The Amazon forest is on the banks of the Amazon river. It covers an area of 5,500,00 km2. This was nominated in 2008, in the list choosing the seven new wonders of nature.

The Amazon rainforest has more plant and animal species than the wet forests in Africa and Asia. The forest's biodiversity is unparalleled.This region is home to about three million of insect species, thousands of plants, birds and mammals.

Upto date at least 40,000 plant species, 3000 fish, 1294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians and 378 reptiles have been classified in the region of the Amazon Rain Forest.

Types of fauna (animals) like blood sucking vampire bats, jaguars, black caimans, electric eels, anacondas and piranhas have been classified.

This rainforest is highly conserved and no one can harm the resources available in that region.

Sanduni Anuradha Edirimanne,

Grade 7D, Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo 5.

Punctuality - the key to success

Winner:

There are several principles and values that help us lead a happy, successful and peaceful life. One such important quality we should nurture is punctuality. It is the key to success.

Punctuality means to be on time. As students punctuality is very important as it helps us to do our work in an organised manner. For instance, if we go early to school we can attend school assembly on time and also not miss out on lessons by walking into class late. A student who is punctual is always liked by everyone. A punctual person generally displays leadership qualities, obedience and consideration for others. He also develops a good personality. So, a person who is punctual always gains the confidence and respect of others.

To be punctual, a person should learn to get up early and plan his work for the day. He must always work according to a time schedule.

On the other hand, a student who is not punctual disturbs and inconveniences everyone. A person who is not punctual usually postpones his work when he is lazy and does not worry about keeping others waiting. Such a person is disliked by everyone because of his selfish qualities. He will not become successful as he is disliked by everyone. So, it is crystal clear that punctuality is the key to success. In fact, it is the virtue of kings.

Fathima Shahani,

Grade 8S, Ilma International Girls' School, Colombo.

Universal Children's Day celebrations

Universal Children's Day is an event celebrated on various days in many countries.International Children's Day is celebrated on June 1 and Universal Children's Day on November 20.

The International Children's Day has its origin in Turkey (April 23, 1920) and later in the World Conference for the Well-being of Children in Geneva, Switzerland (1925). It is not clear as to why June 1 was chosen as the International Children's Day.

Children's Day was first celebrated worldwide on October 1955, under the sponsorship of the International Union for Child Welfare in Geneva. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1954.

On December 14, 1954 the UN General Assembly recommended that all countries should introduce an annual event from 1956, known as Universal Children's Day to encourage fraternity and understanding between children all over the world and promote the welfare of children.

It was also chosen as the day to celebrate childhood. It was recommended that individual countries should choose an appropriate date for this purpose and we in Sri Lanka observe it on October 1 every year.

Children's Day is one of the oldest UN days and carries particular significance in the 21 century because of the prominence of children's issues in the Millennium Development Goals.

Yogarajah Kishanthaney,

Grade 8D,

Bt/Paddirippu National School.