Children

It’s holiday time again!

Dear Children,

We are in the final month of the year. The month of December is considered the festive season not only in our country, but also around the world specially with Christmas around the corner. Children are the happiest and enjoy the most during the festive season.

What are your plans for the school holidays? How about going to see your aunts and uncles perhaps living far away? I am sure each and every child is looking forward to playing with friends and going on picnics and getting involved in various other activities.

Children love to play and why not? But don’t neglect your studies too much and do your home work because come January 2009, you will be in a higher grade and most probably with a new class teacher. So prepare yourself well so that you can face the new challenges with confidence in the new year. Why not share your holiday experiences with us? We love to hear from you. You can draw beautiful sceneries you come across on your holiday trips wherever you go.

Remember children this page is open to all of you out there. Enjoy your holidays and make the best use of your leisure time.

Bye for now.

- Aunt Anji
 

shiraito waterfall

In our series famous waterfalls in the world let us focus on Shiraito waterfall which has been proclaimed as one of the most scenic waterfalls in Japan.

The Shiraito-no-taki (White Thread Waterfalls) are beautiful waterfalls just inside the Yamanashi border from Shizuoka prefecture on the lower slopes of Mount Fuji. There are actually two waterfalls to see, Shiraito and Otodome. Most visitors will encounter Otodome first.

Otodome Waterfall: The ‘sound stopping’ waterfall is anything but. About 25 meters high and 5 meters wide, it is a thundering torrent.

The main stream of the Shiba River flows over the cliff into a deep pool. You often get beautiful rainsbows forming in the midst before you. Mount Fuji is often viewable on the approach.

Shiraito Waterfall: Named the white thread fall, this waterfall is a beauty.

Literally thousands of small streams trickle in a large arch from the rocks between the main flows, creating a vast white cascade nearly 200 meters wide (despite the vertical drop being only 25 meters).

The stark contrast with the neighbouring Otodome falls is amazing.

The water here is from Mount Fuji, flowing down via the Kaotou River. The falls are particularly attractive in spring as the snows of the mountain melt and strengthen the flow.

 What is history?

The word history is derived from Greek language which is known as Istoria. Istoria means coming to know as a result of experimenting. History enlarges our mind by giving knowledge of the distant past. It is however not only to be regarded as an extremely interesting study enlarging the range of our intellect.

It is also the immense of practical value. As nothing is more interesting to man than the study of man, it is no wonder that history should be exceedingly fascinating. Reflective readers find history far more interesting than fiction. The task of history is to identify the past of human activities such as economical, political conditions of humans.

Famous historians such as Collinwood, Bradely, Trivilian have defined history very well in their statements. History is sometimes reproached with narrating nothing but battles and campaigns and court intrigues for power. The reproach, however, can be only made with truth against bad histories.

A good modern history gives a full account not only of kings and nobles, but also of the progress of Literature, Science, Art and the work and amusements of common people. Understood in the wide sense, history is a delightful study for all reflective persons.

The chronicles of the Middle Ages give little else but the biographies of kings and the exploits of noble warriors. Political wisdom is mainly derived from the knowledge of the past. Thus the happiness and progress of mankind is largely dependent on the knowledge of past history possessed by the nations of the world and the Statesman who rule them.

- Hashan Wickremasinghe Dayananda

Grade 10 Oxford International College, Balangoda
 

A visit to the Australian zoo

My first visit to the zoo was in Australia.

We woke up early in the morning

and went to the Royal Park zoo.

In there I saw many many animals.

First I went to see the monkeys jumping up and down.

Then I went to see another monkey called Malu.

Malu was fond of bubbles, and he’s trying to catch them.

I can’t believe that Malu likes bubbles like me.

Then we went to see the butterflies.

Then we ate lunch and went to see the platypus.

I will never forget this nice trip to the Australian zoo.

Ranuli Palipane

8 years, Musaeus College Colombo 8
 

Louis Braille

When I see a man with a white stick in his hand, I remember no one but Louis Braille.

It is because unless for him most blind persons would have to spend their entire lives in ignorance as well as darkness.

Although Louis was also a man without the privilege of seeing he was not born blind. Braille lost his sight accidentally when he was a child.

However, he completed his education in a school for the blind in Paris and became a teacher. At that time there were only a few books written for the use of the blind. The letters used there - were the ordinary letters of the alphabet. It was very hard for the blind to read them.

So Louis wanted to invent a different system that would be less troublesome. For this, he used six raised dots. By different combinations of each of these six dots he made different symbols for each letter in the alphabet. The successful invention named Braille’s system is still concerned as the greatest landmark of the history of blind education.

Even today, Braille is used by blind people all over the world.

Minfa Moulana

Grade 12 Sailan International School Negombo
 

The painter

Charcoal, a pencil
Or even a paint brush
Is just another,

Tool for us.
But not for the painter
Not for his arm
It’s a key to unlock
Feelings in heart.
 

A step you walk
A laugh you laugh
Is just another
Move for us

But not for the painter
Not for his heart
It’s a tip kept in memory
To be used in the next art.

A glorious sun rise
A stormy sea
Is just another
Scenery for us

But not for the painter
Not for his mind
It’s a million dollar picture
To be drawn next time.

Lemon yellow
Or aqua blue
Is just another
Colour for us

But not for the painter
Not for his eyes
It’s a magic paint mix
Used next time

Arthi Amunugama

Bishop’s College Colombo 3
 

‘Disappearing egg’ act

By Uncle Sachi and Aunt Ruwi

Part 16

Sachi sighed and looked at the boy seated beside him, lost in the tale. Nalaka glanced back at him, eager to know more.

“What happened to the goblins, Uncle Sachi?,” he questioned.

“They were banished from the wood but that did not stop them from being up to their old tricks,” Sachi snorted.

“Why, just a few months ago I found that snotty goblin, Sulo, had led a pack of warthogs into my turnip field. The nasty creatures are always out there spying on us. It is not long before Ruwi and her cousin Shazie ended up covered in multicoloured dye when one of those horrid creatures left a bucketful of Knobby’s the-colour-of-your-choice dye portion balanced on top of their door,” he said, pausing to chuckle to himself at the memory of the drenched colourful figures who had emerged at the emergency meeting that the chief elf had called on that day. Meeting Nalaka’s eyes, he hastily regained himself.

“Err.. anyway. Once I took my three kids on one of my errands. I had to study a magic show conducted by one of you humans and since we all took some invisible portion, we were safe.

It was quite a sunny day when we set out too and the kids were having great fun discovering the tricks behind ‘human magic’ until we realised that spoilsport of a goblin, Sulo, had joined us. The nasty creature had been on the lookout for a way of getting back at us after me and Ruwi got it into a muddle when we discovered that it had been lodging at old Maggie’s attic. The only way that the invisible portion wears off is through water...,” he said, twirling his pipe in his hands, taking a last puff before emptying the contents onto the grassy patch at foot of a tree.

“The goblin, of course, knew about this. We were passing a water filter without knowing that the creature was hiding behind it. Just as we were about to step out into the spotlight trying to find the secret behind the ‘disappearing egg’ act of the magician when the water filter toppled over. I dragged my young ones away just in time to save them from being soaked but some water splashed onto my hand. We bolted just in time before too many people noted my hand floating in mid air. It was a close shave, I can tell you...,” he continued, grimacing at the memory of the episode.

Nalaka and Sachi were very much engrossed in the story that they did not hear the sound of a twig breaking. Ever alert, Scooby, lifted his head and gave a low growl. A sound like breath catching and rustles of leaves made him leap to his feet, barking, startling Sachi, Nalaka and Champika. The gnome scrambled up, clutching his cane.

“Come out you sneaky goblins,” he shouted, waving his hands menacingly.

“ Come out of there if you value your life!”