Winner: My holiday

Last December, I went on a trip with my family to visit my grandmother in Kandy. I also visited our relatives and played with my cousins. My grandmother cooked delicious food for me.

My father took us to the Sri Dalada Maligawa, the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens and the water tank in Maguru Gala. We went on a boat ride on the Kandy Lake. We had a bath at the Hunas Waterfalls. After a week’s enjoyable stay we returned to Colombo.

I enjoyed my trip very much.

Hajara Azeem,
Grade 2-4,
Presbyterian Girls’ School,
Dehiwala.

Winner: The coconut tree

The coconut tree is tall and belongs to the palm variety. It grows mostly in the coastal areas. The outer cover of the fruit is brown or green and called the husk. It has a hard shell inside which we call the coconut. There is water and kernel in the coconut and the milk is used to make curries. The kernel is used to produce oil and copra which are exported.

The coconut flower is also made use of to extract toddy. It is also used to make vinegar and jaggery. Nothing gets wasted from a coconut tree. The shell is used to make spoons and ornaments.

It is a very useful tree, because we make full use of the tree for its by products.

Deshan Godage,
Grade 10E,
St. Thomas’ College, Matale.

Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910 in Kosovo, Ottoman Empire. She died on December 5, 1997 in Calcutta in India. She was 87-years-old. Mother Teresa was a Roman Catholic nun. She was known as the blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

Having lived in Macedonia for 18 years, she moved to Ireland and then to India where she lived for the greater part of her life. She received numerous awards for her services to the community including the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. She treated the sick and the poor.

Surani Maheepala Fernando,
Grade 5J,
Ladies College, Colombo.

My hobby is reading

I am Anuhas Vihanga Jayasekara. I attend Lyceum International School, Wattala. I am studying in Grade Two. My favourite subject is Mathematics. I like to be an engineer when I grow up.

I live in Waragoda, Kelaniya. I have a younger brother. I like to play snakes and ladders. I can also play chess and cricket. I ride my bicycle during the weekends. My hobby is reading. I obey my parents, elders and teachers. I always try to be a good boy.

Anuhas Vihanga Jayasekara,
Grade 2E,
Lyceum International School,
Wattala.

Winner: Let’s save the mighty shark

What comes to your mind when you hear the word shark? Do you imagine a huge fish that swallows people?

For a long time people believe that sharks are man-eaters, but in reality this is not so. Experts say that there are 300-350 species of shark, of which 54 are found in Sri Lankan waters.

Sharks rarely attack humans. The great white, tiger shark and the bull shark are said to be the most prone to attack humans. It is rare to see the great white shark in tropical waters. They have poor sight and mainly feed on sea lions among other creatures. However, most sharks have good sight and feed mainly on fish, sea turtles and lobsters. The silk shark is the most commonly found species in Sri Lanka. Because of her smooth skin she is named silk shark.

Experts say that the sharks are at risk in Sri Lanka because of over-fishing and the number of reef shark have reduced in the past 15 years. The other reason is that shark fins are regarded as a delicacy in South East Asian countries and found in restaurants.

Fishing boats from foreign countries come into our waters and catch the shark and get a high price in their countries. Sri Lanka is famous in exporting shark fins. Environmentalists say that our country does not have any laws to restrict fishing sharks and permits are not needed to do so. They stress that since sharks breed slowly. Laws should be introduced into steer them from troubled waters.

Pravesha de Silva,
Grade 10,
Good Shepherd Convent,
Panadura.

Winner: My dreams in 2016

A year has ended and a new year has started. As a child, I have many goals and targets to accomplish during this year. I was promoted to Grade Seven, this year. In 2015, I achieved many goals and failed in some. I dedicated myself to achieve my targets in 2015. I failed to get an international certificate for my extra curricular activities and I will do my best to achieve it this year.

I was keen on joining the scouting contingent in the school, but, unfortunately due to health reasons I was not selected. I will do my best to perform well and join the scout troop this year.

Last year, I tried very hard to write a children’s story book, but failed. I will give top priority to fulfil my goal and write a book this year. I will study hard and obtain high marks for all the subjects and thus achieve my target. I will be an active, well-mannered and a well-disciplined child, so that I will be selected as a prefect in 2017.

I wish I could reach my targets with the support of my parents, teachers and elders.

W.A. Pasindu Anjana Weerakkody,
Grade 7A,
Royal International School, Kurunegala.

My hobby

My hobby is gardening. I have a beautiful garden with roses, temple flowers, jasmine and orchids. Every evening, I water my plants. There is a pond with lotus flowers. Birds and butterflies also come to my garden. My mother grows vegetables. I give some vegetables to my friends. I attend flower exhibitions to buy plants. I like my hobby.

Methdini Dinhara,
Grade 4,
Primary School Kottawa Dharmapala Vidyalaya.

My trip to Singapore

My dream was to visit Signapore one day. It became a reality on December 6th last year. I visited Singapore with my family. We travelled by Singapore Airlines and it was very comfortable. We visited many places in Singapore, ate different varieties of food and did a lot of shopping. It is a beautiful country. I was sad when it was time to depart but I always feel that Sri Lanka is the best.

Vishmi Taraka,
Grade 5,
Al-Baraka International School, Bandarawela.

Butterfly

The Butterfly is a beautiful insect. It has two wings. It drinks nectar from flowers. A butterfly comes out from an egg. We can see colourful butterflies.

Shashmike Nilushe,
JMC International School, Kandy.