Trees

Trees are big and small,
Give shade for us,
Leaves are green,
Trees are green,
Help for the water cycle,
Keep cool environment,
Give herbs for illness,
Fruit for hunger,
Timber for houses,
Stop soil erosion,
Make clouds,
Houses for birds,
Make a lovely environment,
Impossible to live without trees.

My school

By Sarathchanthirs Harithwarman, National School, Batticaloa

My school is St. Michael’s College. My school is a National School in Batticaloa. My class teacher’s name is Navaseelan. My friends’ names are Yathurshan, Lithurshan, Somiyan, Vythursh, Virubash. They are clever children. They study well. They play cricket on Sunday. They go to kovil on Friday.

My school is a very big school. It has got a cricket pitch, bank, tennis court and badminton court. My school has very kind teachers and principals. My school has St. John’s Ambulance. I love my school very much.

My home town

By Navindu Paris (Grade 5), Rahula College, Matara

My home town is Matara. It’s a famous town in the Southern Province. There is a beautiful sea beach. River Nilwala flows through the town. There are many people living in Matara. They are Sinhalese, Muslims and Tamils. There are many Buddhist temples, churches, mosques and kovils. All the people live in unity.

Matara is reputed for education and sports. The most popular schools are Rahula College and Sujatha College. The world famous cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya is from Matara.

There are remnants of Dutch rule in Matara. The Star Fort, fortress and Nupe market are some of them. The clock tower stands on the rampart as the guard of the town. I love my hometown very much.

Rantamba Cadet Camp

By Kavindi Ranasinghe (13 years), Kegalle B.V.

I came to school at about 3.30 a.m., to go to Rantamba Cadet Camp, because my school’s Senior Western Cadet Band won All-Island first place. The principal, Mrs. Saroja, the teacher in charge of all western bands in my school, my friends and I got ready to go.

We left at about 4 a.m. At 7 a.m., we had our breakfast. When we reached Rantamba it was very cold and windy. We passed Victoria Dam, Randenigala Dam and Rantamba Dam. About 8 a.m., we reached Rantamba Cadet Camp.

It was an amazing place. The Cadet chief guests arrived. The award ceremony began. There were beautiful band displays of various bands in Sri Lanka. After the speeches were over, the organizers announced the winners of the cadet camp.

We heard our school Kegalle Balika Vidyalaya team had won the first place. We were very surprised and happy.

Training or intelligence

By Samith Ailapperuma (11 years), Trinity College, Kandy

Is a clever dog intelligent or well trained? There is no evidence that dogs are able to think as man does. Although animals can learn to remember things, only humans can think and make decisions.

Some dogs do things such as collecting the morning paper, unlocking a door, performing tricks etc. These acts need intelligence but dogs do most of them by proper training or discovering the skills by chance. For example, when a dog is trying to push a door open, it can by chance find out how to open the lock.

Dogs can be trained easily. There are certain breeds which can be trained for special work. Labradors can be trained to be good guide-dogs. They can be trained as sheep dogs but it is hard work. By proper training you can make your dog a very clever dog.

Dengue Prevention Day

By Nuflan Iqbal (14 years), Kandy Grammar School

On October 4, 2010, we had a dengue prevention programme at our school. Dengue is a very dangerous disease that is caused by mosquito bites. The mosquitoes spread this disease from one person to another. Dengue has killed so many thousands of lives all over Sri Lanka.

To prevent this disease we should first of all prevent the breeding of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in clean water. To prevent the breeding of mosquitoes we should remove the availability of water stored.

So, we all got together at school and first cleaned the school garden. The Kandy Municipal Council also
supplied us with their labourers, tractors, officers and tools. After cleaning the school premises, we cleaned the drains and the roads. Then we went to each and every house around our school to educate people about dengue and the officers checked their homes.

So, on that day we had a lot of fun as well as got some information about this dangerous disease. We also can form a healthy environment by these types of days.

My trip to Water World

By Sayuni Batuwangala (7 years), Musaeus College

Water World is in Kelaniya. I went by car. I went on Saturday September 4. I went with my father, mother and my sister. We saw knife-fish and sea-horses. Father, mother, sister and myself saw lots of fish. Water World is very beautiful.

Orphaned parents

By Giovanni Fernando (10 years), Stafford Int., School

‘Orphaned parents’ is a comment that many elderly people make. As people grow older, their children grow along with them and they pursue their careers and follow their new found families or migrate.

Some children put their parents in a 'Home for the Aged'. Therefore, many elderly people are left sad and lonely. Some children look after and spend time with them but most of them don’t care.

We, as children should take the effort to spend time and care for them and make them feel wanted. Not just now, but even when we grow older. Children who have migrated should see to their duties towards their parents from wherever they are. Our parents have looked after us and now it’s our turn!

Where is my Friend?

By Sathmi Ranasinghe (6 years), Matthew Pearce Public School

Once in a deep, dark forest lived an old lady. The old lady did not have anything except one thing. She did
not have food, a house or even a walking stick. All she had was a fat cat.

One day the old lady started to cry. She said to her pet, “I don’t have any friends.” Her pet said to her, “You do have one friend.”“Who is that?” The old lady asked. “Me, I am your friend,” the fat cat replied. “I need more friends,” the old lady said sadly.

That morning the old lady went to a garden. She saw a tiny caterpillar. She said to the caterpillar, “Can you be my friend?” The caterpillar said, “Sure, I can be your friend.” The caterpillar and the old lady played from that morning to the afternoon. So from that day on, the old lady and the tiny caterpillar were best friends.

A visit to Rupavahini

By Rashvin Senanayake (7 years), British School in Colombo

We were going to the Rupavahini Corporation from school. We went in the school bus. We had to go as
partners and my partner was Meth.

I had to look after him. I found out that the Rupavahini Corporation was near the Independence Square.
On the way there, we sang songs. When we got there we saw the police. We went in and went to Studio 3.

We got to see the ‘Morning Show.’ We went to an outdoor studio too. We did not see any actors.
Going back, we got back into the bus. It was bumpy. We got back to school. I had great fun!

How I spend my leisure time

By Niruthika Sritharan (Grade 6), Methodist College

Leisure means free time. As school children we must try to spend our leisure time in a useful manner. It is said that an idle brain is like the devil’s workshop. If we do not spend our leisure in a useful manner we will get involved in harmful activities.

As I spend nearly six hours in school and two hours at my classes, I feel that I should at least spend one hour in doing something useful for a hobby. My hobby is collecting stamps. It gives pleasure as well as knowledge. We can also learn about fauna and flora, inventions, history of great men, geography,
history, culture, language, currency etc.

I also read books as a hobby. Reading has opened a large door to a treasure house of knowledge to me. Reading also improves our knowledge of the English language. It also gives me pleasure. I mostly like to read books like Secret Seven, Famous Five, Mallory Towers, Amelia Jane and many others. My favourite author is Enid Blyton. Her books are very interesting. I think I am spending my leisure time in a useful and fruitful manner.

My pet

By Mahdiya Zulficar (7 years), Ilma Int., Girls’ School

My pet is a parrot. Its name is Jane. It is green in colour. It loves to eat fruits. It calls me by my name when it sees me. My parents gifted it to me on my seventh birthday. I love Jane my parrot very much.

Why I like Grade Two

By Hafiz Thabeeth (7 years), Wesley College

My school is Wesley College. I am in Grade 2A. Why I like Grade Two is because I am able to do a lot of work such as colouring beautiful pictures and learning new words day by day. There are many pictures and decorations all over the class.

I met many friends and enjoy being with them. I even have a chance to go out from the class for Computer Studies, Western Music and band practices. This is fun because I can participate in those activities.

My class teacher is Mrs. Buddika Sanarathna. She is very kind to all of us but sometimes she is so strict. Our head teacher is Mrs. Shareen Perera. They all teach us how to be good and kind. My class is beautiful and we all love to keep it clean and tidy. This is why I like Grade 2 and my class Grade 2A is great!