How I spend a rainy day

Winner Under 9 years

Rain, rain, come again…

What funny words, splashing, dripping, pounding… Water everywhere… In the garden, on the road, there are puddles. Ditches are full of water. Rivers are overflowing.

If it is raining I want my mother to stay out or have a good sleep. Then I can go out and play with paper boats. I like to see how water splashes when I throw stones into puddles. My pet dog too likes to play in the rain. I can give it a good bath. I can enjoy a lot. But before my mother comes home, I want to get myself dry.

Ashmini Karunarathne
(7 years), Sacred Heart Convent, Galle

The game

I played a game of chess one day,
With my sister in my room.
As she was brilliant at this game,
I was sure I'd lose very soon.

I didn't want to lose the game,
I thought 'twas a shame.
Though my sister wanted to continue,
I said "I quit this game."

Soon I was sorry I quit, for I
Was bored for the rest of the day.
I thought I'd ask my sister again,
To play that game with me.

And so we settled down again,
To play a game of chess.
And believe me, I won this time!
For the spirit of the game remained.

Savini Chandrasinghe (13 years)
Bishop's College

Kurt

Winner 9-12 years

Once upon a time there was a circus. In the circus there was a juggler named Kurt. He was very good at juggling. One day, Kurt asked the circus master if he could do a juggling performance. "Of course, Kurt. What a good idea", he said. "Thank you", said Kurt and went to practice. Kurt thought for a while. "I know, when I'm doing my performance I'll keep two horses on the side, and I will juggle while I am riding,” he thought.

So, Kurt worked on it all day long. At last it was the show day. Kurt was excited and scared. He went in to the circus tent and started juggling. Kurt tried to get on horseback. The horse got away and poor Kurt fell down. Everyone laughed. Kurt heard people saying, "Oh! My god! That was so funny. This is the best performance I've ever seen." Kurt was feeling very happy for himself.

Panchali Illankoon
(10 years)
Musaeus College

An interesting person I have met

Winner 9-12 years

Out of the people I have met, the person I am going to write about is definitely the most interesting. Her name is Uvini Fernando and she is in my class. I should mention that she is completely and utterly insane.

The reasons that made me think of this unusual yet truthful description are these. She really does believe that earth will be dominated by aliens someday. She practically worships rock music, and she's more to the wild side than I am. One rainy day she went out to wander about the school. She looked like a Veddah when she came back.

Her drawing is surprisingly good and her water bottle itself is a work of art. Uvini's trademark changes from month to month. Her current trademark is a face with a raised eyebrow, with a 2 on the side. Don't ask me what that means, I have no idea.

Uvini has extremely surprising ideas, most of them completely mad. Her idea of shopping is to buy completely useless things. These ideas helped me to decide one of the most interesting people I have met, Uvini Fernando.

Hansi Deshapriya
(12 years)
Visakha Vidyalaya

Aeroplanes

Aeroplanes are machines that fly. They are used for many things. Mostly they are used to transport people from one country to another. Aeroplanes that carry people are called passenger planes. They also deliver mail to other countries. Mail that goes to other countries by plane is called Airmail.

How did they invent the plane? First people observed the birds. Then people told legends, about people making wings and flying. The ancient Greek legend about Daedalus and his son Icarus, tells us that they were imprisoned on an island. To escape, Daedalus and Icarus made wings out of wax and feathers and fastened the wings onto their backs and flew away. But Icarus flew too high, and the sun melted the wax on his wings and He fell to the ground and died.

Legends like this gave people silly ideas. They made wings out of cloth or feathers and jumped off mountain peaks, cliffs and tried to fly, but they only fell to their deaths because birds-bones are light-weight and filled with air, while human bones are heavy.

At last the hot air balloon was invented, but people thought that hot air balloons were too slow and finally the first aeroplane was invented. It was invented by the Wright brothers, on December 17, 1903.

After that better planes were made one by one, until the planes of today came about.

Now we don't even need runways for planes like the Hornet. They can hover upwards and then fly off. The greatest plane in the world, is the Mustang. The world's largest aircraft is the Antonov AN225. It was made in Russia in 1988. Surprisingly, only one was made. It was made to carry the Buran Space Shuttle.

So the next time you fly on a plane, say thank-you to the birds.

Sohan Meegahage (Grade 4)
Wesley College, Colombo

The game I like the most

I play many games. They include both outdoor and indoor games, but badminton is the game I like the best.

It is a fascinating game. It is played between two parties. Each party may have one or two players. They stand opposite each other. In between there is a net spread wide. It is played with racquets and a shuttle-cock. The shuttle-cock is made of cork and feathers.

Badminton is a game of skill. A badminton player should have strong hands and legs. He should be very agile. He should be able to run quickly, jump and hop instantly.

I am a good badminton player. I enjoy it very much. I play badminton daily in the evening with my friend Harshi. On holidays I enjoy playing it at home, with my father and my cousin brother. I shall continue to play it all my life.

Kavindya Rajaratne
(Grade 6)
Vidura College

Nilan

Nilan is my baby brother,
Small and brown and wee,
As soon as he can run about,
He's going to play with me.

I'll teach him how to drive my car,
And ride my cycle too,
And he will do the very things,
I always like to do.

But he is only just two weeks,
And still so very small,
I've looked and looked and looked at him,
But he's not grown at all.

I want so much to play with him,
That oh! I want to know,
Some magic that will get inside,
And make him grow!

Deidree Somanader,
(9 years)
Holy Family Convent,
Bambalapitiya

My house

I live in a big house. It is in Dehiwela . It has two bed-rooms, a living room and a kitchen. I keep flower pots in the verandah. We keep our house clean. I love my house very much.

Vithusica Vimalasingham
(Grade 1)
Hindu Ladies College,
Colombo

Inter-monsoonal rains

This month we are having inter-monsoonal rains. We are having continuous rain with incessant thunder and lightning. Since it rains heavily, it is a terrible problem for the people who go to offices and the school going children.

Following the heavy rains, the roads are flooded and also some people have been rendered homeless. Most of the low-lying areas such as Kalutara, Ratnapura, Kelaniya etc. get flooded. Sometimes the rivers over-flow and the people are marooned. Those people who are affected by the flood and are left homeless, are evacuated to schools, temples, churches etc. As some people are occupying the schools, some children are unable to go to school.

Most of the landslides and earthslips occur in the up-country areas. People lose their homes and even their lives. People who are homeless, are provided with dry rations and other food items. Haputhale and Bandarawela areas are impassable due to landslides, and vehicles are unable to pass through these towns.

Due to the heavy rains stagnant water collects and many infectious diseases, such as Dengue and Malaria, spread easily.

Because of all this we all prefer sunshine, to a day of heavy rain!

Lasandhi Rajakaruna
(12 years)
Musaeus College

My favourite newspaper

There are several newspapers but I think the one I like best is the 'Sunday Times', because it carries my favourite 'Funday Times'. On Sundays my first job is to buy the Sunday Times in the morning. My brothers and sisters wait eagerly to read the paper. Anyhow, my father reads it for a week long.

My favourite Funday Times is very colourful. It is specially designed to suit the needs of juniors. It has cartoons, many competitions, word games, stories, IT page, environment, Kids World, poems, club members gallery etc. They are very interesting and amusing.
Reading Funday Times every weekend gives me great pleasure, trains my mind, makes me think and teaches me much. Funday Times is a children's magazine. It designs contests to encourage, recognize and reward juniors who read daily papers and other books.

Muhammadh Muhammadh
(Grade 7)
Wesley High School,
Kalmunai

My grandparents

My father's father was Mr. S. Jayawarna. He was a retired Agricultural Officer. He was very kind and loving. My Seeya Pappa died five years ago.

My father's mother is a retired nurse and she lives in Nuwara Eliya.

My mother's parents are Mr. and Mrs. Oliver who live in Bandarawela. My Seeya is a retired Post Master and my Achcha is a retired English teacher.

I like to visit them during my holidays and I call them very often to ask how they are.

My Achchas bring me presents whenever they come to our place, and my Seeya always tells me to study well.

I love my grandparents very much.

Shamindri Jayawarna (10 years)
Colombo International School, Kandy

Animals who help us

There are many animals who help us. They are bulls, donkeys, horses, camels, hens, cows, elephants and dogs. Animals give good service to humans.

Donkeys, horses and camels transport heavy goods and passengers. Camels can travel for days without drinking water, because of it’s humps.

Farmers rear bulls and hens. Bulls help farmers in farming and pull the cart. Hens give eggs.

Elephants help humans to carry heavy logs, because they are very strong.

Dogs help humans to safeguard the houses. Dogs are pets of the humans.

We must not destroy animals. We must protect animals. Animals are very useful to do our work.

Malika Chathurani (Grade 7)
Mahanama N.C.
Monaragala

My pet

I have five pet chicks. They are small and pretty. They are yellow in colour. They look like small cotton balls. I give them chick food to eat, but they love worms. I love to hear them say chick, chick.

Luzanne Lukman (Year 2)
Mary Immaculate Convent, Tudella

My English teacher

My English teacher's name is Lankika Godakandaarachchi. She is pretty and kind. She wears beautiful saris. My teacher lives in Gampaha. She comes to school by car. Our English teacher teaches us very well. We love our teacher very much.

Chaturinda Ranasinghe(7 years)
Sri Sumedha MV, Gampaha

Rainy day

Today is a rainy day. It is too cold. It is dark too. The sky is cloudy. There is water everywhere. Rivers are flooded. It rains heavily. Some people face earthslips. We hear thunder. We see lightning.

Nipuni Thathsarani (Grade 4)
Tangalle Model Primary School

The Sun

The Sun is shining,
The Sun is smiling,
The Sun …..
Beautiful sun.

Malmee Mapa
(6 years)
Sinhala MV, Trincomalee

Reading

Reading will enlighten,
Your mind it'll brighten.
Reading is the first step in learning,
It also will help you in earning.

You can read magazines,
Which show nice scenes.
You can even read books,
That tell you how to catch crooks.

So go to the library and have a look,
And choose your favourite book.
It doesn't matter if it is even a cook book,
You'll at least learn to cook.

Aaraby Jeyakumar
(11 years)
St. Mary's College,
Trincomalee.

A school trip

Our class children went to the zoo, last Sunday. Our Principal, our teachers and our parents joined with us to go to the zoo. We started our trip at 5 a.m. We all went in a big bus.

We went to the zoo and watched a lot of animals. We saw elephants, lions, tigers, rabbits, birds, fish, and snakes. We saw a very tall giraffe, a very big tortoise and a very beautiful peacock. We had our lunch at the zoo. We watched the elephant dance in the evening. It was a very enjoyable trip. We came home late in the evening.

Crista Mishel
(10 years)
Holy Family Primary School, Wennappuwa