History of the stamp

Winner:

Stamp collecting is a popular hobby among schoolchildren. However, do we know the origin of this most interesting hobby?

The first stamp was introduced by Sir Rowland of England. He was born on December 3, 1795. He was a school teacher at a British school. Later he worked as a government postal officer. He also introduced the concept of the modern postal service.

On May 6, 1840, the first stamp of the world was introduced. It carried the picture of Queen Victoria of England. Its value was one penny.

The first postage stamp of Sri Lanka was issued on April 1, 1857. It too displayed the head of Queen Victoria. It was printed on a special paper. The value of this stamp was 6 pence. In 1875 six other postage stamps were issued in various denominations. At that time a pair of scissors was used to cut stamps because there weren’t any machines to perforate the edges of stamps to make it easy to separate them.

Gayan Jayaratne,
Grade 10,
Sussex College,
Kurunegala.

The problem of garbage disposal

Winner:

Garbage disposal has become a huge problem for urban development authorities. Each day tons of garbage are thrown from our homes, hotels, restaurants, markets, offices, factories and so on. The authorities have to find dumping sites to dispose of the garbage collected each day.

When the garbage is thrown into a particular site and the stench starts to spread, people who live in and around that area start to complain and protest. No one likes to live next to a garbage dump. Then the authorities have to find alternate dumping sites. Sometimes the rotting garbage has to be transported once again and dumped on the new sites.

However, no sooner the garbage compactors are sighted, the public start their protests and demonstrations. Sometimes even the drivers, labourers and officials are attacked. As a result of such disputes garbage is eventually not collected on a regular basis. People then start to throw their rubbish on road sides. Crows, stray cattle and dogs throng these places, looking for food. They tear the bags and scatter the rubbish all over the roads. The once beautiful environment becomes an eyesore.

G.B. Apeksha Rathnamali,
Grade 8,
G/Sri Devananda Vidyalaya,
Ambalangoda.

Life and the ozone layer

Winner:

The Earth is perhaps the only planet in our solar system that has life on it. Other planets are being explored, but none have shown signs of any life on them. Even for life to exist on Earth, there has to be a way of preventing the strong UV (Ultra Violet) rays of the scorching Sun from reaching it. This is done by the ozone layer. Do you know what it is?

The ozone layer is a thick gas consisting of three oxygen atoms. Its scientific symbol is O3.The ozone layer has developed naturally to protect life on Earth. However, due to various human activities, the ozone layer has been damaged today. This has happened as a result of various harmful gases and substances being released to the environment. Some examples of them are R22 and CFC.

If the ozone layer is damaged very badly, the Sun's rays will reach the Earth directly and destroy life on this planet.

In order to stop this, people should use only ozone friendly products.

After scientists discovered that the ozone layer needed to be protected, they took various steps to enlighten the people about the danger of destroying it. One of the measures taken was the signing of the ‘Montreal Protocol.’ It was first signed in the city of Montreal in Canada on September 16, 1987. It encourages countries to phase out the production (consumption) of ozone depleting chemicals and resort to using ozone friendly substances.

About 191 countries have already signed it. September 18 was proclaimed the ‘International Day for the Preservation of the ozone layer’, on December 19, 1994 by the United Nations General Assembly to commemorate the day on which the ‘Montreal Protocol’ was signed.

Now many countries have understood the importance of protecting the ozone and they are using more ozone friendly products.

Today many products we use, such as refrigerators, air-conditioners and other products have labels denoting that they are ozone friendly or CFC free.

We have not yet reached dangerous levels in ozone damage . The drastic effects the entire world could face from such destruction have been averted. For the moment but we still have to face a certain amount of environmental issues due to the development of a hole in the ozone layer .

The world is paying attention to this problem and so there is still some hope, but only if we take care to protect it. So, let's take steps to protect the ozone layer and prevent the destruction of life on Earth!

Janani Randhula Gajadheera,
Willesden College International,
Battaramulla.

A deadly animal defence

Winner:

Animals resort to various forms of defensive actions to protect themselves from predators.

Poison is one form of defence and it helps many animals survive in the wild. Some animals use poison not only to defend themselves but also to capture prey, the animals they eat as food.

Rattle snake for example, have special sacks in their cheeks. A poisonous liquid called venom is stored in these sacks. When a rattle snake bites an animal the venom shoots through the snake's fangs. It goes into the prey and soon the prey dies. The snake then swallows the prey whole, if it is small.

Creatures that can inject venom into others are known as venomous animals. However, not all venomous animals have fangs. Both venomous and other animals have different physical attributes that help defend themselves .The duck-billed platypus for example, has a pointed spur on each ankle. Bees and fire ants have stingers. These body parts are just as dangerous as fangs.

Some animals hide poison in their skin or inside their bodies. These animals are poisonous food . Eating such a poisonous animal will only make the animal that eats it sick. It may even die from the poison.

There are about 500 different kinds of venomous snakes in the world. But most of them such as the King Cobra try to avoid humans. In Australia, a snake called the inland taipan hides in rat burrows, rock openings or cracks in the soil.

The inland taipan's venom is the deadliest of any land snake on Earth. This snake's bite has enough venom to kill 100 people.

Snakes have many ways to warn other animals to stay away. Snakes may rise up, hiss or rattle their tails to frighten creatures too large to eat. But most snakes prefer to slither away. Even if a snake bites it may not use its deadly liquid.

Once the venom is used up, it may take several months to make more venom. During that time, the snake can no longer capture prey.

Dewmini Harindi,
Grade 7,
WP/Ng Seventh Day Adventist High School,
Kandana.

A great astronaut

Winner:

Born in Wapakoneto Ohio on August 5, 1930 the late Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon. He became interested in aviation as a child and obtained a pilot's licence at the age of 16. He had a mind that absorbed things like a sponge.

Neil Armstrong became a Navy pilot of the United States Navy and flew combat mission in the Korean War. Then he served as a test pilot in the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). He served as the project pilot in many aircraft.

In 1947, he began studying Aerospace Engineering at Purude University where he graduated with the Bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He flew over 900 aircraft until he was selected to become an astronaut.

When Armstrong was asked, if he was interested in joining the astronaut corps without hesitation he said ‘Yes’ and accepted the post of Commander of Apollo II. It was the first moon landing mission.During the Apollo II launch, Armstrong's heart had reached the top rate of log beats per minute it is said. When the ‘Eagle’ landed on the moon Armstrong and his colleagues Edwin ‘Buzz Aldrin’ and Michael Collins celebrated their victory with a handshake.

Armstrong was the first to come out of the lunar module. He had looked into the black space and grey rocks before slowly moving down the ladder to place his foot on the surface of the moon on July 21, 1969. Then he said the following words, which has become famous today.

‘That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.’Three hundred and twenty thousand kilometres away from the Earth, people watched Neil Armstrong on television.

The global audience at that moment was estimated at nearly 5 million.About 15 minutes after taking the first step, he planted the American flag on the moon. He also unveiled a plaque bearing President Nixon's signature. Armstrong spent his first few minutes on the moon taking photographs, and soil samples for NASA's future experiments.

The famous astronaut received many honours and awards including the Presidential Medal of freedom, the Congressional Spare Medal of Honour and the Collier Trophy from the National Aeronautics Association. Throughout the United States there are more than dozens of high schools named in his honour.

He is a great American astronaut, test pilot, university professor and United State Naval Aviator. His entry to the moon is a milestone and a historic moment in space theory of the world.

Even though the world said ‘good bye,’ to Neil Armstrong on August 25, he will continue to live in the hearts of millions of people all over the world because of his heroic moon walk.

Saheer Ahamed Nisfer,
Grade 10A,
Zahira College, Matale.

Seasons in Sri Lanka

Seasons change because of the rain, wind, clouds and snow. There are two seasons in Sri Lanka. They are the dry season and the wet season. In the dry season, there is no rain. All trees and grass die. All the waterways dry up and sometimes animals die without water. Farmers too suffer without rain.

In the wet season, we get plenty of rain. Two monsoons bring in the showers of rain. Everything becomes fresh and green once again. All the waterways fill up with water. The farmers are very happy because they could cultivate. Young animals and trees grow fast during the wet season.

G. Dineth Devinda,
Grade 6D,
Mahinda Rajapaksa College,
Homagama.

[Your poems ]

Life is sweet

Though many obstacles we meet.
Repentance, sadness, depression
Trials, tribulations and defeats.
Though you face all these difficulties,
Never abandon yourself
To be depressed and worried
If you can face these challenges,
With an energetic mind, strong will and courage
You can reach any goal
And make your life sweet!

Himesha Prabodini Alahakoon,
St. Thomas Girls’ High School,
Matara.