A tribute to mum

Winner:

With the passing of each year,
I realise what trials you have met,
And the sacrifices you have made...
You gave up your job to look after me,
With so much affection and loving care.
There are times that I forget to thank you,
For all the things you still do, and have done for me
Mum, you are my best friend,
And you are the best gift I got in life.
I am always thankful,
For making me the luckiest child,
By giving me an awesome mum like you!

Senuri Hettihamu,
Musaeus College,
Colombo 7.

How I spend my leisure

Winner:

Leisure is spare time we either spend profitably or waste, doing nothing. I like to read books during my leisure . The type of books I mostly read are mystery books such as Sherlock Holmes, Secret Seven, Hardy Boys and Famous Five. I love to read mystery books because they arouse my curiosity. So, it is enjoyable as well as exciting. If I don’t have any new books to read, I spend my time collecting Pokemon trading cards or playing cricket with my friends.

Among all the other leisure activities of mine, what I prefer most is reading. Reading books is a very effective leisure activity for students. It makes us knowledgeable as well as up to date with the world around us. There are many books that teach us good moral values and help fine tune our future. So, it is crystal clear that ‘Reading maketh a full man,” as the popular saying goes.

Dasitha Samarasinghe,
Grade 8K,
Royal College,
Colombo 7.

Friends make my world beautiful

Winner:

My friends make my world happy and beautiful. I have found them in my class and from my neighbourhood. Their presence makes my school work and play quite pleasant and enjoyable.

My school friends join hands with me not only at play but also in my studies. Some of them ,for instance, Shamla, Dinthi and Sarah, have their pet subjects.

Talking with them about any difficulties I face when studying those subjects, helps me quite a lot, indeed. Similarly they find me useful as I am good in my English.

I also value their assistance in my hobbies very much. The storybooks that I got from my friend Shamla were so wonderful. She gave them for my birthday. How generous she was to part with them to make me happy!

Playing with my friends from school and from my neighbourhood is a pleasure. Our favourite games are netball, basketball and cricket.

We have learned to be fair with one another and this I think has made our association as friends quite pleasurable.

The association of good friends, my father says, provides us valuable training for the future. I feel I am very fortunate in this respect.I love my friends.

Shamila Amith,
Grade 6B,
Sailan International School,
Seeduwa.

Myself

My name is Aabidh Ali Fasmin. I am seven years old. I live in Dehiwala. I study in Belvoir College International. I am in Grade 1B.

My father's name is Fasmin and mother's name is Nusrath. I love my parents very much and they are kind to me. My hobbies are reading story books and drawing. My ambition is to become a pilot.

Aabidh Ali Fasmin,
Grade 1B, Belvoir College International.

A trip to Haldummulla

Winner:

It was a very busy morning, as I had to leave home with my mother on a three day trip to Haldummulla. It was organised by the Panadura Ayurvedic Doctors' Society. It took six hours to get there.

We initially had our lunch and then went to the Herbal Garden. It looked almost like a forest. We saw many strange birds and plants which we have not seen before.I saw a wonderful fly catcher and its nest which was similar in shape to a mug.

There were various types of butterflies in the garden including the second largest butterfly in the country, the Blue Mormon butterfly. They lay eggs on the Citronella plants. Butterflies naturally select plants to lay their eggs.

I learned that dragonflies help to destroy the deadly dengue mosquitoes and that bees can become extinct due to the rays of mobile phones. I also learned from some uncles and aunts that the Ayurvedic book entitled Agnipuranaya was written by King Ravana and the first airport in Sri Lanka too was built by him in Wariyapola.

On the second day of the trip, we sang songs, danced and had lots of fun in the night.

The following day,when we went to the Herbal Garden early in the morning we heard a lot of strange bird sounds.

The uncles explained a lot of things about the medicinal plants and seeds in the Garden to us.

In the evening we came back home saying goodbye to everyone. It was a very adventurous, knowledgeable and memorable trip.

Wittachchikoralage Dewshi Upendri Fernando,

Grade 5D,
Leeds International School,
Panadura.

Wonderful nature!

Winner:

Everything in the world,
belongs to nature
Everyone in the world,
belongs to nature
But, man cannot understand nature.
All the animals,
belong to nature
All the trees,
belong to nature
And even man,
belongs to nature
But man cannot understand nature.
The best creator,
Of the world is nature
The best creations,
Were made my nature
The most wonderful,
Things have been done by nature
The most intelligent one,
Of the world is nature
But man cannot understand nature.
All the beautiful things,
Are gifts of nature
All the living things,
Are parts of nature
Everything happens,
Under the rules of nature.
So, as I think, the only God,
In this world is nature
Because the only reason,
For everything happens
In the world is nature.
All of us should be,
Grateful to nature,
All of us should be,
Thankful to nature
All of us should
protect nature
Oh! wonderful nature,
We love you very much.

Sithara Madurangi Weerasinghe,
Grade 10A,
Anula Vidyalaya,
Nugegoda.

Scenery I enjoyed …

During the school vacation my family members proposed to go on a trip to Nuwara Eliya and my father said it was a great idea. We planned to travel to Nuwara Eliya by train. We started our journey in the morning from Polgahawela Railway Station. We managed to get seats near the window and I felt that we were very lucky. Going by train is an enjoyable and very interesting mode of travel and we were able to see many things.

After a long time of travel we reached the Diyathalawa Railway Station. I felt that it was becoming too cold, so, I wore my cardigan .

When we were closer to Nuwara Eliya, I saw many tea estates. The tea pluckers with baskets hanging on their backs were busy plucking tea leaves. I saw them only through the window so they seemed very small. I also saw large buildings in the distance and my father said they were tea factories. I took some photographs. There were some misty mountains too that added great beauty to our motherland.

The train travelled through many tunnels. When we were going through the tunnels I felt a little afraid and shouted. It was an enjoyable experience.

When we were nearing the Nuwara Eliya Station and getting ready to get off the train , I realised that I was fortunate to see such beautiful scenery during my journey.

I really enjoyed the scenery that I saw while going to Nuwara Eliya and knew the trip will be a very unforgettable one for me. This will remain in my mind, forever.

D.K. Gavithri Dilesha Amarasinghe,
Grade 10 P,
Ke/Dudley Senanayake Central College, Tholangamuwa.