Guess who I am?

Winner:

Yesterday, I was on the shelf of a bookshop. A little boy came running in and asked for a book. So, the manager took out the whole bundle of us. “This one is nice. Give me this,” said the boy after selecting me. I was put into his school bag.

There were many others like me inside of it.

They had very beautiful clothes of different colours. Some wore red and others wore yellow.

I was sad because I did not have any clothes.

At school I was taken out by my master and he started to write on my body. I felt sad because my master was writing unkindly on my body. A bell rang and then again I was put back into the bag.

When my master went home he put on a nice dress on my body too. Then I felt happy because, I thought my master was a very kind person.

J. A. Christian Nimantha Perera,
Grade 7D,
Maris Stella Branch School, Negombo.

My home garden

Winner:

My home garden is very beautiful. There are many trees such as margosa, coconut, banana, jak, mango and papaya trees.

There are beautiful flowers too in my garden. They are roses, temple flowers, jasmines, shoe flowers and orchids. Lotus and nil manel flowers grow in the pond.

Different kinds of birds come to my garden. They fly everywhere in my garden. There is a special place to feed the birds in my garden. Everyday the birds come to have food.

I love my home garden.

H.M. Ashinsana Nethidu Senavirathna,
Grade 3 D,
NK/Jayanthi Navodya Central College.

Keep the environment clean

Trees are our friends. There are various kinds of trees in our environment. Trees are very useful to our lives. They give us fresh fruits, beautiful flowers, firewood and wood to make furniture, medicine, foods as well as shade.

Some people cut trees and use the wood to construct buildings. We also must not throw rubbish every where. It must be put into a dustbin. We must not spit everywhere, especially after chewing betel. We must cultivate good habits.

Fresh vegetables, fruits and herbals should be grown wherever possible and the environment should be kept clean. We must sweep the garden and roads.

Various types of animals make our environment beautiful. We must not kill these animals.

Kumudika ChithraniAbeywickrama,
Grade 7-E,
Sujatha Balika Vidyalaya,
Matara.

The Esala Perahera

Winner:

The Esala Perahera is a religious and cultural event in Sri Lanka. Both local and international tourists come to watch this magnificent perahera. It is one of the famous pageants in the world. Dancers, drummers and elephants participate in this event.

It starts with the Kap planting (Kap situweema). A jak tree is cut into four pieces and carried on the tusker’s back and planted in the four devales. Five days after the Kap situweema, the Kumbal Perahera starts.

The Randoli perahera begins after five nights. On the last night the Randoli perahera which is the grandest, can be seen parading the streets.

The Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha is kept in a golden casket on the majestic tusker.

The Esala Perahera ends with the water cutting ceremony at the Mahaweli River.

Geemal Herath,
Hejaaz International School,
Mt. Lavinia.

My native place

Winner:

Life is a journey with storms of challenges, drizzles of happiness and mountains of sorrows. Starting this marvellous journey in a beautiful place adds more beauty to it.

I am very fortunate because I have got such an opportunity as my native place is Ulpathagama.

My village Ulpathagama is situated about 159 km North of Colombo in the sleepy hamlet of Galkiriyagama in the Anuradhapura district.

Even though my village is a paradise of beautiful singing rivers, enchanted woods, and smiling flowers, the villagers lead a very strenuous life due to dire poverty.

They do numerous activities to earn their living. Some engage in paddy and chena cultivation. One of the best examples portraying their down trodden lives and emotional status is the ”Palkavi” that could be heard in the village, mixed with the cool breeze in dark nights.

Some of the villagers engage in self-employment such as wood carving, and the weaving of mats and bags using reed.

The lamps that shine through every home in the night shows how much they are trying to enlighten their lives in the thick darkness of poverty.

They are an example and challenge to those who think that the poor cannot be successful in life.

The historical value of my village is very significant. Namal uyana which bears the largest rose pink quartz range in South Asia is found here. According to historical evidence, it has provided the quarts to build the Taj Mahal too.

I have been to many places and they have all captured my imagination. However, Ulpathagama, my village is the most beautiful place that has captivated my ‘heart’. So, I hope to spend the journey of life within this village as I love it so much.

P. Shehani Randika Priyamanthi Silva,
Grade 9 – ‘7’
Ch/W/Holy Family B.M. Vidyalaya Wennappuwa.

Elections

Winner:

An election is a formal decision making process by which a population chooses an individual to represent them in some official body and help them. Since the 17th century elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern democracy operates.

Elections fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary sector and regional and local governments. This process is also used in many other private and business organisations from clubs to voluntary associations and corporations.

The election is not a concept that originated recently but was practised long before in the medieval period. However, the modern elections emerged in the beginning of the 17th century.

Electoral reforms are the process of introducing a fair electoral system where they are not in place or improving the fairness or effectiveness of existing systems. There is a study called psephology where we learn how to predict results of elections.

There are different types of elections and some of them are the Presidential, General, Local and Provincial elections. During elections we can find electoral campaigns where the politicians and their supporters attempt to influence voters.

There are difficulties in elections too in many countries where the rule of law is weak. The most common reason why elections do not meet international standards of being “free and fair” is interference from the incumbent government. Most often dictators use the power of the police, martial law and censorship to remain in power.

Sometimes, in many countries those who are in power arrest or assassinate candidates, suppress or harass supporters, close campaign headquarters and also intimidate voters with violence.Elections should be peaceful. Voters are people who are eligible to vote. are free to cast their vote to the candidate of their choice.

Abdullah Ibrahim,
Grade 10,
Hejaaz International School,
Mt. Lavinia.

A sad goodbye

“God pours life into death and death into life without a drop being spilled”. Steve Jobs bid a sad goodbye and the world has lost an amazing human being.

Steve Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004 and received a liver transplant in 2009. Jobs announced his resignation as Apple’s CEO on August 24, this year.

He said in his resignation letter, “I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know.”

The disease he was afflicted with ultimately claimed him at the age of 56. There’s plenty we know about Steve the person, beyond the Mac and the IPhone. If anything, the obscure details of his interior life paint a subtler, more nuanced portrait of how one of the finest technology minds of our time grew into the dynamo that we remember him as today.

Jobs was born in San Francisco on February 24, 1955. He was an adopted child. His adoptive father was a machinist for a laser company and his mother worked as an accountant. He became the leading mind, behind one of the most successful companies in the world, the Apple company. He has made a huge difference to the entire world as he was an inspirational figure. Steve Jobs saw the future and brought it to life long before most people could even see the horizon.

The IPod’s revolutionised the way consumers listened to music and paved the way for the release of the popular IPhone and IPad. Apple has sold over 300 million IPods since its first release in 2001.

Now, with products ranging from Macintosh computers and laptops to various models of the iPod, iPhone and iPad, Steve Jobs proved to be a progressive and influential pioneer in the rapidly evolving technology industry. He inspired so many people.

Pashmi Liyanage,
Grade 10 H,
Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo.