On the 9th of June night, I was so excited about the next day because it was my birthday. I realised this day was more than an ordinary day. My father who was in Bangladesh had returned to Sri Lanka, giving all of us a real surprise.

In the morning I got up and saw my father. I was so surprised. I received many gifts from my
parents and grandma. When I went to school I received many gifts from my friends too. Later that afternoon, straight after school, my father and my two brothers came to pick me. We went to some sports centres and bought a whole cricket set for my brother.

My Snow-White cake was waiting for me at the Fab. We purchase the wonderful cake and we also bought some ice-coffee which was refreshing.

We cut the cake and enjoyed it. At 6 p.m. sharp, we left and prayed at church for blessings from the Lord.
We had our dinner from McDonalds. The day was starting to end, the sun was setting and all of us felt safe at home. This was an unforgettable day in my life.

My friend

By Thihansa Ranaweera (Grade 4), Musaeus College

My friend's name is Bagya. She is nine years old. My friend is kind. She has four members in her family.
My friend comes to school by van. She likes to eat rice. Her favourite colour is blue. She likes to drink orange juice. She is a good swimmer. I love my friend very much.

A memorable trip

By Pradeep Lakmal (12 years), St. Peter's College, Bambalapitiya

It was our August holidays. We planned to go to Bandarawela by train. That morning we got up early and went to the Fort Railway Station. Thaththi bought our tickets. The platform was crowded. As the train came to the platform, we all rushed in. It was very, very crowded. We had only standing space. Thaththi said that we could not take such a long journey in a crowded train. We got off the train and returned home sad.
We were determined to make this trip. We put all our bags into Thaththi's van and he happily agreed to drive us all to Bandarawela.

It was a very pleasant journey. We stopped on the way and enjoyed the beauty of our country. Paddy fields, rubber estates and long rows of tea bushes. We had our lunch near a waterfall.

By evening we were at Bandarawela, in a holiday home. We spent three nights there. We went to Nuwara Eliya, World's End and many other interesting places. We also saw a tea factory. We bathed at a water spout, close to a beautiful waterfall.

We returned home happily. It was a very memorable trip. Thank you Thaththi!

Our school uniforms

By Dinithi Panagoda (Grade 4), Visakha Vidyalaya

Sri Lanka is a tropical country. In the dry season there is dust everywhere. We have very high humidity. Our white uniforms turn to brown and get dirty before the day is over. In the wet season, the roads are muddy. So school children get their white uniforms muddied in one day.

In Sri Lanka, most of the poor families have a very hard time sending their children to school in white
uniforms. In India too, school uniforms come in grey, green, brown and other dark colours. The children look smart and neat. I wish they change the colour of our school uniforms.

Prehistoric Life

By Sanjula Panditharatne (Year 6), Asian International School

Towards the end of the Cretaceous period the climate of the earth was warm and moist. At that time the earth was one huge super-continent and the Dinosaurs dominated the earth for 1400 million years.
Among the dinosaurs the meanest and scariest was Tyrannosaurus Rex. Their early ancestors were Albertesaurus. There were giant vegetarians called Apatosaurus. It was the biggest animal that has ever lived on the earth.

It was 35 m long from nose-tip to tail-tip. With its long neck it was able to look over a present day three-storied house and to reach taller trees to eat the leaves. They weighed 20 – 50 tons.

The dinosaurs died out in a mass extinction. Scientists believe that a massive meteorite hit the earth and changed the climate, which caused the extinction. After the dinosaurs the earth was dominated by mammals and reptiles. Some mammals that looked like elephants were called Woolly Mammoths.

They had lots of fur covering their bodies. They had long tusks. The last mammoths died out 10000 years ago. Some mammals have taken to life in the sea and never came to live on land. They evolved as whales, dolphins and seals.

Myself

By Sashen Kaveesha (Grade 4), Presidents College, Rajagiriya

My name is Sashen Kaveesha. I am nine years old. I am studying in Presidents College, Rajagiriya. I am in Grade Four. I have one sister. I love my sister so much. I like to eat KFC. I like to play cricket and I like to be a cricketer. I love myself and my family very much.

My class teacher

By Ayshamariam Ifhaam (Grade 1), Belvoir College International

My class teacher's name is Mrs. Rushminee. She is very kind and good. She is teaching us very well. My class teacher is very active and works hard to make all of us study well. With my loving teacher's
guidance, twice I became first in my class.

She is nice and wears sarees. She teaches us lots of hard work. Most of the subjects are taught to us by her. I love my teacher very, very much. I wish my loving class teacher long life filled with happiness.