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Children
Germany
| Capital - (and largest city) Berlin
Official languages - German
Ethnic groups - 91.5% German, 2.4%
Turkish, 6.1% other - Demonym German
Population - December 31, 2008 estimate
82,060,000
Currency - Euro |
 Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany is a country in
Central Europe. It is bordered to the North by the North Sea, Denmark
and the Baltic Sea; to the East by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the
South by Austria and Switzerland; and to the West by France, Luxembourg,
Belgium and the Netherlands.
The territory of Germany covers 357,021 square kilometers (137,847 sq
mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 82 million
inhabitants, it accounts for the largest population among the member
states of the European Union and is home to the third-largest number of
international migrants worldwide.
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Berlin is Germany’s liveliest city and
one of the most fascinating capitals in the world. |
A region named Germania inhabited by several Germanic peoples has
been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th Century,
German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire that
lasted until 1806. During the 16th Century, Northern Germany became the
centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state, the
country was first unified amidst the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. In
1949, after World War II, Germany was divided into two separate states -
East Germany and West Germany - along the lines of Allied occupation.
The two States were unified in 1990.
West Germany was a founding member of the European Community (EC) in
1957, which became the European Union in 1993. It is part of the
Schengen zone and adopted the European currency, the euro, in 1999.
The capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany is a member of the
United Nations, NATO, G8 and the OECD. It is a major economic power with
the world’s fourth largest economy by nominal GDP and the fifth largest
in purchasing power parity. It is the largest exporter and second
largest importer of goods. The country has developed a high standard of
living and established a comprehensive system of social security. It
holds a key position in European affairs and maintains a multitude of
close partnerships on a global level. Germany is recognized as a
scientific and technological leader in several fields.
Courtesy: Wikipedia
Back to school
Dear Children,
Do you feel sad that the school holidays are coming to an end as most
schools open next week for the new term? But I am sure you all must be
missing your school friends and teachers so you all can meet them soon.
September is an important month for children because it is the Literacy
month.
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Reading is
a good habit. ANCL library photo |
As the saying goes reading maketh a full man, so children must try to
cultivate the good habit of reading. Don’t forget your wealth can be
stolen but not the knowledge.
International Literacy Day is on September 8, 2009. Literacy and
Empowerment is the theme for the 2009-2010 biennium of the United
Nations Literacy Decade. Its aim is to highlight the importance of
literacy to individuals, communities and societies. On International
Literacy Day each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of
the status of literacy and adult learning globally.
A series of events like essay, debate, painting competitions and
stage plays at school and national level have been organized with the
assistance of the Education Ministry to mark Literacy month. Lectures,
forums, book exhibitions and sales take prominent place during this
month.
We should be happy as Sri Lankans that the literacy standard of Sri
Lankans is higher than that of other Asian countries.
Let us focus on the literacy rate findings. According to UNESCO’s
‘Global Monitoring Report on Education for All (2008)’, South and West
Asia has the lowest regional adult literacy rate (58.6 percent),
followed by sub-Saharan Africa (59.7 percent), and the Arab States (62.7
percent). Countries with the lowest literacy rates in the world are
Burkina Faso (12.8 percent), Niger (14.4 percent) and Mali (19 percent).
International Literacy Day 2008 had a strong emphasis on Literacy and
Epidemics with a focus on diseases such as HIV, Tuberculosis and
Malaria, some of the world’s most important public health concerns.
By the way enjoy the last few days of your holidays. Don’t forget to
share with us your holiday experiences. And don’t forget to do your
school homework. Bye for now.
- Aunt Anji
A hoax? - Part 52
Uncle Sachi and Aunt Ruwi
 Emida stood still, her heartbeat quickening, hardly daring to move a
muscle. The figure overhead did not even budge. It was nearly twice her
height and seemed to be grazing in her direction. The minutes ticked by.
“Maybe it is a tree...” she thought, hopefully. Yet trees as big as
these surely did not just shoot out of paths. Surely one of the pixies
who were the keepers of the natural growth in the woods and beyond would
have tended to the matter. She took a deep breath.
“I’ll take a step and if whoever is overhead moves even a muscle I’ll
make a dash for it. Gratien’s home is not far or I could even make it to
Sachi’s place,” she thought with mounting hopes.
So with that thought a very timid Emida took a small step and waited
for the figure to spring across her path. She sensed that something evil
was larking nearby but could not quite make out what it is.
 “It can’t be that unpleasant creature, Sulo, or one of the other
goblins. It is something else...,” she thought. She blinked up at the
dark figure before her. It hasn’t even budged.
“It must be something harmless, like a dead branch of a tree that
some mischievous animal had planted on the way for a laugh. How silly I
would look larking here if someone comes up the path. Especially if it
is a hoax...” she thought.
Summing up her courage she took several steps forward and stopped on
her track, this time in surprise.
Before her was a human boy. He was staring at her, a panicked look in
his eyes with something outstretched on his hand. One more glance and
she understood.
“Why of course. The ‘luring stone’ has trapped him,” she gasped and
ran to his side.
A closer look told her how miserable he was even though his features
were frozen in place. Strangely, there was something about him that
reminded her of her dead son.
“Oh, you poor thing. You poor, poor thing...” she cried as tears
sprung to her eyes. She put her hands around his waist and hugged him.
Chinthaka felt a warm glow spreading through his frozen body and the
luring stone shivering rapidly in his hand.
(To be continued)
A foolish lion and a crafty fox
Once upon a time
There lived a lion
All alone in a cave
Without a partner
As his queen
So he felt very lazy
To go out hunting
For his daily food
A crafty fox happened to
Observe the solitary lion
The king of the jungle
And hit upon a plan
To put the lion out
Of the cave
So the fox humbly called
The lying lion to get up
And listen to a threatening
Complaint
The lion suddenly woke up
And roared loudly
And replied, what is the complaint?
Then the fox explained,
Oh! The greatest king
Of this large jungle
There is another lion
To challenge you
Immediately the lion
got out
Of the cave
And followed the fox
And commanded him to show
The other lion to kill
But the fox took him
To a pit full of water.
And said, that lion is
Hiding in this pit
You can see him
For yourself”
The irate lion looked into the water
And saw his own reflection
And thought it
To be another lion
So the foolish lion jumped into
The pit of deep water
And drowned without any rescue
Form the crafty fox
The fox laughed to himself
Over the fate of the foolish lion.
Rimza Farwin Meeadh Vision International School - Kandy
The story so far...
Pramodaka, Nalaka, Champika and Chinthaka go on a trip to the woods
with their parents for their school holidays. In the middle of the night
the children are awakened by a strange noise. On following their dog,
Scooby, Chinthaka is snared by the age old spell of the ‘luring stones’.
Pramodaka departs with Ruwi, a pixie, to recall a book of spell to cast
off the spell while Nalaka, Champika and the dog remain behind with
Sachi, a gnome who updates them on the life of mythical creatures.
Shamilka, a friend of the mythical creatures joins in and they begin
hunting for Pramodaka and Ruwi as there is no sign of their return. Just
as they were coming to terms with the fact that they were lost, six
rabbits scamper along the way. The rabbits take pity upon the children
and agree to guide them part of the way.
Meanwhile Sulo, the goblin who is always trying to make trouble for
the mythical creatures, grabs a basket of goodies from a gnome named
Russell and makes off.
Scooby scents her and attacks. Ruwi senses that Russell is in danger
but she also gets the strange feeling that there is a mysterious link
between Pramodaka. Suddenly a storm breaks out and Pramodaka, Nalaka and
Champika are blown away with the wind.
As they make their way back to their friends Sulo notices them and
comes up with a nasty plan. She rushes off gang up the rest of her pack.
There she reveals a secret that could hold the key to all the goblin’s
troubles.
There is a sudden break of trouble in the pixie camp as one of the
pixies, Dina, develops weird symptoms. Emida, a middle-aged gnome goes
in search of peace and stumbles upon a discovery...
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Muqaddasa A. Wahid won the gold medal
for Verse Speaking - Own Choice solo (8 and 9 Years) at the
Annual Competitive Festival 2009 affiliated to the British
and International Federation of Festivals in Music, Dance
and Speech. She is a student of Ikra International Girls
School, Colombo 3. Annvarr, the adjudicator is also in the
picture. |
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