[Winner:]

A visit to an elders’ home

The English Club of our school organised an event to treat important people in our society on Children’s Day. We planned to visit an elders’ home, with our teachers and fellow students.

We bought many things for the elders such as sarongs, frocks, toothpaste and soap. We prepared lunch for them at our homes. First we cleaned and arranged the rooms. Then we swept the elders’ home. We pruned bushes, watered the grass and fertilised the plants with the help of the elders. We washed their clothes, ironed and folded the sarongs and frocks.

We served lunch for the elders. I fed a grandmother and she kissed my cheeks with a smile and thanked me. After a short while students arranged chairs in a circle under a banyan tree. All of us got together and started to converse. We delivered speeches, sang songs and I participated in a playlet too. Grandparents related their stories which brought tears to our eyes.

They spend their evenings thinking of their daughters and sons. We soothened the elders minds and made them enjoy jokes.

In the evening we bid farewell to the grandmothers and grandfathers. They blessed us and said that we added essence and hope for their future and left with a lot of happy memories.

Nethmi Amanjani,
Grade 10,
Medirigiriya National School.

[Winner:]

An ink pen speaks

I am an ink pen. I was born in a large factory. I had many siblings and friends there. But, I didn’t have time to talk to them, because we were in packages which were pitch dark . We travelled hours until we reached a bookshop.

I was unpacked and put on a shelf with the others. Our enemies, the carbon pens were right next to us. I felt jealous when I saw customers rushing to buy them. No one was interested in buying us.

One day a boy bought me and took me to his home where I now live. I am happy. My master treats me well. I am lucky to be an ink pen.

Isuri Mapa,
Grade 7,
Hillwood College,
Kandy.

[Winner:]

The book I read recently

I have read many books in my life. The number is unaccountable. I love to read books. Goosebumps - ‘How to kill a monster’ was the book which I read recently. It is a book with a thrilling story about swamp monsters. It interested me much.

The author of this book is R.L. Stine. He is a famous author who wrote many books on ghosts. I have also read his other books such as ‘Go eat worms!’, ‘It came from beneath in sink’ and ‘Egg monsters from Mars.

’ They too impressed me a lot.

I borrowed these books from our school library. I hope you too have a library in your school to borrow books and read.

This story is about two, who faced great trouble in their grandparents house which was in a swamp. The trouble was the swamp monster. The climax was interesting. I guess that there will be a part II book. You all can enjoy reading this book.

Sasha Rashad,
Grade 9A,
Hill country International School,
Madawala,
Kandy.

[Winner:]

Drawing and its joys

From the youngest to the oldest there is joy in drawing or seeing the work of others. Even in Sri Lanka, we see boys and girls from Grade 3 shading and colouring pictures with great happiness and dedication.

Adults sometimes draw as leisure. But for book illustrators, engineers and artistes, it is a part of their lives. You may draw digitally or on paper. If you draw with dedication and inspiration, it will create an amazing picture.

Traditional art, or drawing on paper, is the oldest form of drawing and the type of art most children draw even today. We keep a pencil, an eraser, a box of pastel, a box of watercolours and a box of colour pencils nearby when drawing traditional art. When the drawing is finished you must consider a few things before colouring.

Shading is a good option if you want. When doing this, you must choose the correct colours. For example, red will go with yellow if colouring a pot or face and dark green will go with light green for a tree. Be careful with colours; try to use light and dark colours where necessary. Another thing is that if you want to make it more realistic, you may have to smudge it a little. It is best you do it in a pastel coloured drawing.

Digital art is drawn on a computer or on a drawing tablet. A drawing tablet looks slightly like a large smartphone or IPad and has a pen-like object, called a Stylus, to draw. There are various tools in paint editing programs, such as Watercolour, Airbrush, Blur, Pen and pencil. There are many paint editing programs such as Paint, Adobe Photoshop, Paint Tool SAI and FireAlpaca.

Art is one of the things which helps in mental well being. Its beauty commands interest and attraction. It is our duty to preserve this which our ancestors made for us.

Shivangi Sritharan,
Grade 6E,
Yasodara Devi Balika Vidyalaya,
Gampaha.

[Winner:]

If I had wings

If I had wings, I will fly high, over the trees, cities, above the clouds and the sea. I will see many countries such as India, America, Australia, Italy and Greenland. I will see people in the buildings, on the roads and in many vehicles.

I can eat many fruits such as bananas, apples, oranges, mangoes and pineapples. I can fly from one tree to another going in search of food. I will fly high over the mountains such as Everest and Mount Fuji. I can fly faster than the other birds such as eagles, pigeons and sparrows.

I am happy and proud of myself. All the other birds will wonder how I could fly faster than them.

D.M.Jayam Chandu Dissanayake,
Grade 4B, Royal International School,
Kurunegala.

My favourite movie character

My favourite movie is Arrow. It is a movie with many episodes. My favourite character is Oliver Queen. He is an adventurous person like Robin Hood. He lives with his fathe, mother and sister.

Oliver Queen climbs and jumps from one building to another looking for bad people. He is a hero in the movie who saves people. I like him a lot.

Kasthuri Indu Dissanayake,
Grade 8A, Royal International School.
Kurunegala.

My cat

I have a cat. It is cute and fluffy. Its fur is smooth and soft. It likes to eat milk and fish. My cat sits on my leg and licks it. When its afraid, it hides behind my leg. My cat purrs to make people like him. It catches rats in my house. All my friends are jealous of my cat. It has a toy rat named Jerry. It plays with it. I love my cat and I will never allow anyone to take him away from me.

Zaid Hani Shahjahan,
Grade 6A, Royal International School,
Kegalle.

A tree speaks

I am living thing. Do you know who I am? I am a tree and I breathe through my stomata. I give food to eat and wood to make things. Birds sit on my branches. They sing lovely songs for me.

Some children climb on me to pluck fruits. People protect and help me grow by watering me. I am a living thing and please help to protect me and shield me from distruction.

Vishmi Dewja Nadeniya,
Grade 5B, Royal International School,
Kegalle.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is an island. It is known as the 'Pearl of the Indian Ocean'. It has a good history. There are 25 districts and nine provinces in Sri Lanka. It is a tropical country.

The national flower of Sri Lanka is blue water lilly and the national tree is the Na-tree. The national gem is the blue sapphire. The national bird is the Ceylon Jungle fowl.

Our country is surrounded by beautiful waterfalls, mountains and thick forests. The national flag of Sri Lanka has a lion with a sword on it. Sri Lanka is a multi -ethnic country.

Himasha Liyanage,
Grade 6B,
Royal International School.