My name is Senara. I am a girl. I like to play and read books. My school is St. Bridget's Convent. I am in Grade Two. I am five years old. My parents are doctors. I have a brother. He goes to Royal College.
I go for tennis and swimming. I want to be a doctor.

Fruits

By Nethmi De Silva (9 years), Sujatha College, Nugegoda

Fruits, fruits
Apple, Banana, Mango
Pick one up, wash it all around,
Cut and slice.

Apples are the best,
Forget the rest,
You can tango
When you eat mango
Yum, Yum…

My brother

By Delia Joseph (7 years), Mt. Lavinia

My brother's name is Leo. He is nine years old. He is studying in Scotland. He loves to play football. He likes to eat chocolates.

Walk through Jaffna

By Harini Nanayakkara (11 years), Lyceum International School, Nugegoda

Last December 26th, we took a trip to Jaffna. It was a long trip of about 11 hours. We went with two other families. We went through Anuradhapura, Medawachchiya, Vavuniya, Omanthai, Maankulam and Elephant Pass. Most of the places were isolated, with only damaged buildings and palm trees with holes made from gunfire. We saw how hard the soldiers work to remove the landmines and to rebuild the area once again.

There were a lot of army checkpoints and the soldiers were very helpful to the people there. All the vehicles were checked and sent together with an army vehicle in front.

Jaffna town was very busy and large. We visited the Nallur Murugan Kovil, the Jaffna library and
St. Peter's Church. Nelli cordial, grape cordial, palm mats, palm jaggery were some of the favourites in Jaffna.

We had a chance of visiting Nagadeepaya. It was an island near Jaffna. We were taken there on a boat that could carry about 75 people at a time. It was an unforgettable trip for me. It is so nice to see Jaffna in peace and harmony again.

A language that I would like to learn

By Muqaddasa Wahid (Grade 5), Buddhist Ladies College

A language that I would like to learn is French. It is the language that is used in France. I like to learn it because I like the way the French people pronounce it and the French vocabulary. Some words such as 'Bonjour' means 'Hello' and 'Le Petite' means 'brother.'

I also like the way they write French. It is my hobby to learn many different languages. I have read many
storybooks that have some French phrases or words in them. They are the 'St. Claire' series, 'The Little Princess' etc.

Some schools abroad and in Sri Lanka too, teach French. It's not that hard to learn, it's quite easy. You can learn French by going to French classes, hearing anyone who speaks French and from French activity books. Do you like to learn French too?

Anagarika Dharmapala

By Thalib Liyaff (Grade 6), Arethusa College, Colombo 6

Anagarika Dharmapala was born on September 17, 1864. At first he studied at C.M.S. Boys' School (Christian College) Kotte. Then he studied at St. Benedict's College, Kotahena and later at S. Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia.

His father's name was Don Carolis Hewavitharana and his mother was Mallika Gunawardene. 'Dharmapala' means ‘the protector of Dharma.’ 'Anagarika' means ‘Homeless One.’ Anagarika Dharmapala became a close friend of Colonel Olcott. In 1906, he published a magazine named 'Sinhala Bauddhaya.' He built schools and hospitals in Sri Lanka and India. He passed away in 1933 in India. We should not forget his services to our country.

My train journey to Badulla

By Nethmin Seneviratne (6 years), Royal College

It was a Saturday. I was excited to go to the Fort Railway station. My parents, my sister and I went to the station at about 9.30 a.m. Then we heard the announcement about the 'Udarata Menike.' It came to the platform number 3. Our seats were reserved in the observation compartment.

The train started to move. The first stop was at Ragama. We could see everything outside very clearly. We saw tea estates, tea factories, waterfalls, mountains, vegetable plots etc. It was a very long journey but we were not tired. I took a notebook and wrote the names of the tunnels that we passed and the stations that we stopped at. My father took photographs. I saw the most beautiful places in our country.

We had to reach Badulla at about 5.30 p.m. It was raining. The train went very slowly and the climb was very difficult. We enjoyed a lot. It was becoming dark and we couldn't see anything outside. At last we reached Badulla at about 7.30 p.m. It was a memorable journey.

My mother

By Kavinu Undugodage (7 years), S. Thomas' Preparatory School, Colombo 3

My mother's name is Ayanthi. She is forty years old. She is fair and has short hair.
She is an English teacher. She teaches at President's College, Maharagama. She likes to eat sweets.
I love my mother.

My country

By Insaf Yaheya (8 years), Zahira College, Colombo

My country is Sri Lanka. It is situated in the Indian Ocean. It is also known as the 'Pearl of the Indian Ocean.' It is an island.

The central part of Sri Lanka is hilly and is called the Hill-Country. The coastal parts are plain and called the Low-Country. Many rivers flow from the central hills. The longest river is the Mahaweli Ganga. There are many mountains. The highest is Piduruthalagala. Bambarakanda is the highest waterfall.

We export tea, rubber, coconuts, gems, flowers, fruits etc. Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is the capital city of
Sri Lanka. Our country is a multi-national country. I love my motherland.

My grandfather

By Ashfa Razmy (Grade 2), Greenwood College International, Matale

My grandfather is K.A. Buharideen. He is sixty nine years old. He is a retired English teacher. My grandfather dresses neatly when he goes out. He wants us also to be neat in our work and dress. He takes me to school on his motorbike.

He is very fond of me and my sister. He takes care of us when we are sick. He buys us whatever we want. He takes me to the library and to the park. He teaches us good habits.

We are very lucky to have a grandpa like him. I pray for his good health and long life.

Bharathanatyam

By Divakar Balendra (14 years), Ranabima Royal College

Bharathanatyam is a classical dance form originated in Karnataka – Mysore and the newly formed state of Tamil Nadu after Indian independence, a state in southern India. This dance form denoted various 19th and 20th century reconstructions of Cathir, the art of temple dancers. Cathir in turn is derived from ancient dance forms. Bharathanatyam is usually accompanied by the classical carnatic music.

Bharathanatyam is thought to have been created by Bharatha Muni, a Hindu sage, who wrote the Natya Shastra, the most important treatise on classical Indian dance.

Bharathanatyam is considered to be a fire dance – the mystic manifestation of the metaphysical element of fire in the human body. Karnas are the 108 key transitional movements that punctuate Bharathanatyam and other classical Indian dances.

A distinctive feature of Bharathanatyam Dance is the use of expressive hand gestures as a way of
communication.

An unforgettable day in my life

By K. Saffna (14 years), Kalmunai

On January 6, 2000, my father took me to Carmel Fatima College in Kalmunai at 7.45 a.m. That was the first day for Grade One students.

There was a meeting arranged for the Grade One students and their parents in the main hall. The principal and the teachers of Grade One welcomed us and started the meeting. The Grade Two students welcomed us and made some speeches. The principal also delivered a speech. Then the teachers asked us to go to the Grade One classes, where our names were pasted on the wall.

So I was sent to the Grade 1C classroom. My new class teacher was Mrs. Mahinakumar. She talked to me very kindly and gave me a blue badge to indicate her class. There were five divisions in Grade One. Every class had different colours of badges.

There were lots of children in the class. The teacher gave us colourful books and sweets. Finally she sang us a nice song. We also sang with her. At about 11 a.m. she asked us to go home. I went with my father very happily. It was an unforgettable day for me. I still remember my first day in Grade One.

Let's save our animal friends

By Anuradha Gamage (13 years), Kekirawa Central College

As humans, we can't live alone. So we make friends who are with us in our sorrow and happiness; but not only human friends, animal friends too. There's a saying that animals are better than man. On one hand that is true because animals never give up his master when he is in trouble.

Now our animal friends have to face a big problem about their lives. Many people kill these valuable animals to fulfill their needs. So animals become threatened, extinct or an endangered species.

Due to deforestation some animals lose their habitat. It also causes the decline of their species. When
thinking about this, we can see our human actions causes animals to be reduced day by day.

As a person who loves animals we should save these animals. There are many ways to do it such as reforestation, avoid killing these animals etc. If we want to see these animals again, if we want to make our environment beautiful, we should save our animal friends.

My teacher

By Romen Ushettige (10 years), St. Anne's M.V., Lunuwila

My teacher's name is Mrs. Geethani. She is very kind. She has brown eyes. She has two pet cats. She lives at Nainamadama. Mrs. Geethani has two children.

She is thin and tall. My teacher wears spectacles. She is teaching at Boralessa M.V. She has a nice garden. There are flowers and coconut trees in her garden. She has musical instruments in her home.

She is a good teacher. Mrs. Geethani teaches me Sinhala. She has a beautiful house. I love my teacher and she loves me too.

My school

By Prabath Herath (Grade 4), Sussex College, Kurunegala

The name of my school is Sussex College, Kurunegala. It has about one hundred children. It has twenty four teachers. The principal of my school is Col. P.C. Ratnamalala. My class teacher is
Mrs. Chamila Ariyasena.

My school has a large playground and a small play area for the kids. It has a library and a computer lab. The school garden is very beautiful. There are many kinds of flowers. I love my school.