Hello Children,
Today is Mother's Day. Have you thought of anything nice for your
mom? Well if you haven't it's not too late to go and get some flowers from
the garden and wish her a happy Mother's Day.
Mothers are special. You've got only one. So whenever there's a special
occasion you've got to make the best use of it, by thanking your mother
for all she's doing for you. Mothers sacrifice a lot to bring you up. They
spend all their time and energy on making you happy. So in return the only
thing you can do is to show her that you love her by making her day.
Give your mother the day off and if you can, do some of her house
work and get your father involved too in making her day a special one.
Until next time,
Aunty Sunshine
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Sinhalese New Year
The Sinhalese New Year has come
Everyone is getting ready,
A lot of things to be done
The foods to eat-so many.
Games to play
Time to forgive everyone,
Help others in every way
Be united, be one.
Time to give presents
To enjoy the day with everyone,
I wish peace and harmony will be present
To make a happy and prosperous New Year to come!
By Thamali Jayasinghe
Yeeum International School
The Taj Mahal
Many people think that the famous Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders
of the world. It isn't though, it is very beautiful, and was built as a
tomb.
It is in Agra, India. It is built of white marble and is famous for
its beauty. Although it took twenty years to complete and cost millions
of rupees it is what the Emperor Shah Jehan wanted. It was constructed
as an act of love when Emperor Shah Jehan's wife Mumtaz Mahal died. People
from everywhere visit this place. They enjoy the beauty of this monument
of love.
Sent by Fiyaz Zareen
St. Mary's College,
Nawalapitiya.
My Birthday Party
My birthday party was held on a Friday. I was very happy because it
was a public holiday. I got up early. My mother gave me a new dress as
a present. My mother is also a good cook. She had prepared several tasty
dishes for lunch. After lunch my Father made a short speech and gave his
best wishes to me. My mother said "May the Triple Gem bless you".
I had invited several of my school friends to the party. All my friends
gave me gifts.
We sang songs and danced. My father sang an old Baila song and danced
too. In the evening at about 5.30 p.m. everyone wished me "many happy
returns of the day". Then there was a surprise for them. Mother brought
them a tray of ice-cream. After that my friends thanked us and went home.
Shereen Manikkam
Methodist College
Stamp News - 66
Beeralu and Pan peduru
By Uncle D.C.R
Lace making is a flourishing cottage industry in southern Sri Lanka.
It has a long history having been introduced by the Portuguese in the 16th
century. The words 'Beeralu' and 'Renda' themselves are Portuguese derivations.
What was once a popular form of dress is today a much sought after item
among tourists.
 Lace
was featured in a Rs 17 stamp - one in a set of four stamps on handicrafts
issued on March 13, 1997. Other subjects were pottery, mats and Sesath.
Lace making is a fascinating art. Yarn is wrapped round wooden bobbins
and lace is made making use of a lace cushion and pins. Women in Galle,
Weligama, Dickwella, Matara and Hambantota are engaged in lace making which
is a lucrative source of income for them.
Lace dresses were popular in the 17th century. 'Kabakoruththu', a dress
decorated with lace was worn by women. Ceremonial dresses of Muhandirams
and Mudaliyars during the Dutch period were adorned with lace. Apart from
dresses, lace is also used for household items like curtains, and table
cloths. Lace making continues to be a popular pastime among women in European
countries like Belgium, Holland and France.
Pottery was the subject of the Rs 8.50 stamp in which three decorative
items of pottery were featured. It is a craft widely prevalent in any part
of Sri Lanka where there is clay.
 Basically,
four items of pottery are made - pots and pans for household use, artistic
and recreational items, religious items and architectural items. These
are made on a potter's wheel using a very simple technique. While the tools
used are also basic and limited, potters excel in creativity. This simple
craft is confined to the potter's home where members of the family are
involved in making the various items.
Mat weaving (Rs 10.50 stamp) is also another popular traditional craft
with a long history. It is a basic item used in every household. Mats rich
with attractive patterns are pleasing to the eye and are fine examples
of creative hands. 'Pan peduru' is a 'must' in every home and continues
to be used in preference to bed sheets even in some urban homes while in
the village it is widely used. Varieties of reed such as 'galleha', ' thunhiriya',
borupan' and 'kokmota' are used to make mats. 'Sesath' (25 cents stamp)
is a symbol of religious devotion and honour. Literally, it means white
umbrella. Ceremonial occasions see 'sesath' being carried right in front
in procession or being placed where dignitaries sit.
An object of traditional Buddhist art, legend says that Arahat Sonuttara
brought the casket of relics from the world of Nagas for depositing in
the Ruwanveli Seya under the shade of the 'chaththra' held by Maha Branhma.
According to Professor Senerat Paranavitana, the 'sesatha' occupied a significant
place among sculptures and carvings during the Anuradhapura period. Painters
continued to depict the 'sesatha' even in later times whenever they depicted
respectful objects like the Danta Dhatu (Buddha's tooth relic) or Sri Maha
Bodhiri Lanka's victory. See Stamp News 5.
Reproduction
Plants repro- duce and multiply in two very different
ways. These are called, respectively, sexual and asexual reproduction.
Reproduction happens when the nucleus of a male cell combines with the
nucleus of a female cell. Male reproductive cells include sperms and pollen
grains. Female reproductive cells are called eggs or ova. Fertilization
is the word used to describe the combining of male and female nuclei inside
the egg cell. The fertilized egg cell then divides and multiplies to grow
into the new plant.
In asexual reproduction there is no combining of male and female nuclei.
Plants reproduce asexually in a number of ways. One way that we have seen
already is for a bit to break off a plant, and then to grow into a whole
new plant. Another is for a plant to put out runners overground, or rhizomes
underground, which give rise to new plants. These ways of asexual reproduction
are called vegetative propagation .
Reproduction in simple plants
 Many
algae and fungi reproduce asexually. Algae which consist of a single cell,
or only a few cells, reproduce asexually when one or more of their cells
simply divide into two.
The simplest fungi—types of water moulds—reproduce asexually by dividing
up into many tiny swimming cells called zoospores. A zoospore swims off,
settles down and grows up into an adult water mould.
But even very simple plants also often reproduce sexually. For example,
water moulds and algae may make not one, but two types of tiny swimming
cells, which are rather different from one another. These swim off and
combine with one another in an act of fertilization.
Very often a plant will reproduce sexually, then asexually, in alternation.
This happens not only in very simple plants, but also quite distinctly
in higher plants such as mosses and ferns. It is called alternation of
generations.
Reproduction of seed plants
Plants which reproduce by seeds are the most advanced members of the
plant kingdom, and the ones made most familiar to us by their beauty. They
include pines, firs and their relatives, and all the many and various flowering
plants.
A seed can be compared with the fertilized egg of a bird or reptile.
It contains an embryo, together with some food for the embryo. This is
all surrounded by a protective coat or shell.
Seeds are spread, or distributed, from their parent plants in various
ways. If a seed deve lops, or germinates, successfully, its embryo grows
up into the adult plant. Thus the cycle continues. In all seed plants,
fertilization of the egg takes place on a parent plant. In most cases,
pollen is carried by the wind or by flying insects from one plant to another.
Pollen grains, each containing a male nucleus, stick to a projecting, outer
part of the ovary. Inside the ovary are one or more egg calls.
A tube then grows from the pollen grain down into the ovary. A male
nucleus travels down this tube to fertilize an egg cell.
The fertilized egg then divides and multiplies to form the embryo.
Fruits
The embryos of flowering plants, inside their seeds, are further protected
inside fruits. Fruits are the ripened ovaries of flowers and they contain
one or more seeds.
They include not only those succulent foods we usually call fruits,
but also nuts, pods and other kinds ot seed containers.
Pine or fir seeds, however, are not contained in fruits. For this reason
they are called naked seeds.
They are shed from the female cones of the parent plant—the familiar
woody cones. Ends
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