My flower garden

My flower garden is
beautiful. There are
flowers in my garden.
There are trees. Birds and butterflies come to my
garden. I like my flower
garden.

My favourite subject

By Malika Madhubashini (10 years), St. Joseph’s College

My favourite subject is English. My English teacher is Miss Suba. If we learn English, we can get more knowledge. English is an international language and it is spoken in every country in the world. So it is very useful for all of us to study English.

My pet

By Fazra Farook (Grade 3), Raddolugama Junior School

My pet is a cat. Its name is Kitty. It’s white in colour. Meat and fish are its favourite food. It’s very cute and innocent. It wags its tail and turns around when it sees his master.

It catches mice in the night. It purrs at the dogs. It has a wet nose and cold ears. It mews when it is hungry. It has bright eyes. Sometimes it plays with me. I love my cat very much.

My trip to Yala

From a overseas reader

By Dulani Kankanamge (Grade 5), Chittick Elementary, U.S.A.

As the clock chimed five I got up. Picking up my suitcase I got into the white jeep, jumping with excitement. I kept my head at the window the whole time watching the light blue waves crash against the sand.

We stopped at Galle to have breakfast and see the Dutch Fort. I watched in awe as a man jumped off the tall fort and into the water. On the way we saw salterns that were abandoned in Hambantota.

Finally we were in Yala. We travelled through the dry forest until we saw our hotel called Yala Village.
It was beautiful. All sorts of birds were there drinking water from the watering hole.

After a refreshing lunch we went on a Yala safari and saw water buffaloes, crocodiles, wild boars and peacocks but we weren’t able to see an elusive leopard.

We went straight to bed and after a good breakfast, we visited the Kataragama kovil and then made our way home. It was the best trip I ever had.

Value of trees

By Zahara Thaslim (Grade 5) Newstead Girls’ College, Negombo

Trees are a vital part of our environment. Every living being depends on trees for their survival. The trees are very useful in different ways. They provide specially food, oxygen, shade, timber, medicine and many other things. They add beauty to the environment. Some kinds of animals and birds make their habitat in the trees. Trees make the soil fertile.

There are plenty of herbal plants in Sri Lanka. Our ancestors used to take herbal plants for many illnesses. Sri Lanka is internationally recognized for its herbal plants. Soil erosion is prevented by trees because the roots of the trees hold the soil tightly. Therefore the soil cannot be washed away. We get rain with the help of the trees. People who don’t know the value of trees illegally cut them down for their own purpose.

We should love and protect trees for our future and survival.

My school

By Vihanga Lathhiruni (Grade 6), Bandarawela C.C.

My school is Bandarawela Central College. It is in the Uva province. It is the best school in the Uva province. In our school there are more than two hundred teachers. There are many buildings in our school and there are four thousand students in our school.

Our school is a government school. There are classes from Grade 1 to Grade 13. The principal of my school is Mr. N. M. Wimalasekara. We have two libraries, three laboratories, a big playground, a
beautiful shrine room and a canteen. We have facilities to learn Aesthetic and Science subjects.
There are associations in my school. They are the English Literary Association and the Buddhist Association.

There are four houses in our school. They are, Gemunu, Tissa, Wijaya and Abhaya. Our annual inter-house sportsmeet is in the month of February. My school is very clean and beautiful. I love my school very much.

Shoes

By Sanduni Rajapaksha (Grade 7), Devapala College, Gokaralla

New shoes, new shoes,
Black, red, blue shoes,
What would you choose,
If your mother told to buy?

Bright shoes, white shoes,
What would you choose,
For a dancing party,
If your mother told to buy?

Flat shoes, fat shoes,
Long shoes with a heel,
What would you choose?
I’ll choose the black shoes for school.

Sinharaja Rainforest

By Mystica I.T. (Grade 4), St. Mary’s College, Trincomalee

Sinharaja rainforest is the only undisturbed rainforest left in Sri Lanka. It is about nine thousand hectares in extent. Many of the plants are very rare.

Sinharaja is the largest rainforest reserve in Sri Lanka. In 1840, Sinharaja became a crown property. In 1988, Sinharaja was made a National Wilderness Area.

Sinharaja is home to many rare animals, birds, butterflies, insects, reptiles and trees. The average height of trees in Sinharaja varies between 35 to 40 metres.

My trip to Habarana

By Thiyesa De Silva (8 years), Bishop’s College

The last few days, I was in Habarana. We stayed at an Eco-Bungalow. I enjoyed climbing the wooden steps with my friends, which led to our rooms. We also spent time on a swing which was tied to a tree in the jungle. From the top of the

bungalow, we could see a beautiful lake. In the evening we watched the final match between
Sri Lanka and India at ‘Rangiri’ Stadium.

The next day we climbed the Sigiriya Rock. Even though I was scared, I climbed right to the top.
I was very proud of myself. On our way back home, we visited the world’s tallest rock statue of Lord Buddha at Rithigama. I miss all the fun I had during my trip.

Myself

By Ravindu Pathiraja (6 years), Sri Wijerama M.V., Udahamulla

My name is Ravindu. I am six years old. My favourite colour is red. I have one brother. His name is Ruwimal. I live in Colombo. I am in Grade Two. My favourite sweet is strawberry ice-cream.

How I am getting ready for the next Grade

By Randhula Gajadheera (11 years), Willesden College Int.

I am a student of Willesden College International. Our term ends in August and we start school in September. This time I am going to Grade Six. It is a big grade. I am surprised when I think that I am going into the Junior Section. We also have to buy a new report book.

Now I am doing the text books of Grade Six with my mother. They’re quite advanced but if you concentrate on what you are doing, it is very easy to understand and remember. Science, which is my favourite
subject, has a book, double the size of last year in Grade Five. I read a lesson everyday and do its exercises. It is very interesting and I also find the answers to a few questions which I asked my mother and father.

In my words I think that the Maths book is at least twenty times bigger! Some lessons such as co-ordinates have very big exercises. But, actually they are quite easy if you concentrate.

I do at least five pages everyday, which means that I will have done 35 pages per week and 140 pages per month. So I think that Grade Six is a hardworking grade.

Life of a water drop

By Nima Liyanage (Grade 5), Anula Vidyalaya, Nugegoda

First I was at a big river with my other water drop friends. One day some people came to the river where we were living. They pumped us into a big bowser and took us to a big factory. They put all of us into a big tank and put some chlorine onto us. After that we were put into bottles. These bottles were loaded onto lorries for distribution to various shops in the country.

I was on a rack for a few days. One day a little boy came and bought the bottle that I was in. I was taken into the kitchen of the boy’s house. I heard the boy’s father asking for a glass of water because he was feeling thirsty. The boy’s mother put me and some friends into a glass and served him. The father put us into his mouth.

I went through a long, dark tunnel. A few days later I became a drop of sweat. In a few seconds I evaporated into thin air. After that I became a part of a cloud. By then I missed all my old friends. But, one day I was dropped onto the earth as a result of rain. I fell into a drain accidentally. There I met all my friends again.

My brother

By Senaya Seneviratne (6 years), St. Bridget’s Convent

My brother is 7 years old. I love my brother and he loves me also. My brother’s name is Nethmin Seneviratne. He likes to eat pineapple. I play with my brother.

My brother’s favourite colour is blue. My brother has a bike. My brother’s birthday cake was Transformers. My brother likes to play tennis. He also likes to play chess. He studies at Royal College.

My class teacher

By Afsal Amsudeen (12 years), Aba beel Int. College

I am a student of Aba beel International College. My class teacher is Mrs. Bardurdeen madam. She is fair and has long hair. She comes to school by auto from Dematagoda. She is a well educated teacher. She teaches Maths from Grade 5 to Grade 11.

She wears saree. She explains the lessons very well to us clearly, so even the weaker children can improve their knowledge. She is very kind but strict. She is very good in her manners.

We like our teacher because of her teaching method. She walks around the class when she teaches us. I love my class teacher very much and she loves me too.

My pet

By Zahra Zarook (Grade 2), Ilma Int. Girls’ School

My pet is a rabbit. Its name is Snowy. It is beautiful. It is white in colour and has white fur. It likes to eat carrots and drink milk. I keep it in a cage. Snowy likes to play with me. I also like to play with it. I like my pet very much and it likes me too.