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Children
Greece
Capital
(and largest city)
Athens
Official languages
Greek
Demonym
Greek |
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Acropolis of Athens with the Parthenon on top.
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Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic is a country in southeastern
Europe, situated on the Southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. The
country has borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria
to the North and Turkey to the East.
The Aegean Sea lies to the East and South of mainland Greece, while
the Ionian Sea lies to the West. Both parts of the Eastern Mediterranean
basin feature a vast number of islands, islets and rock islands. Modern
Greece traces its roots to the civilization of ancient Greece, generally
considered to be the cradle of Western civilization.
As such, it is the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the
Olympic games, Western literature and historiography, political science,
major scientific and mathematical principles and Western drama,
including both tragedy and comedy.
Greece is a developed country, a member of the European Union since
1981, a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union
since 2001, NATO since 1952, the OECD since 1961, the WEU since 1995, a
founding member of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and a member of
ESA since 2005. Athens is the capital; Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion,
Larissa, Volos, Ioannina, Kavala, Rhodes and Serres are some of the
country's other major cities.
Courtesy: Wikipedia
International Day of Peace
Dear Children,
 September 21 is a very important day in the world calendar as it is
International Day of Peace. The word 'Peace' is very significant to us
Sri Lankans as it becomes a reality since the ending of terrorism in our
country in May 2009, after nearly three decades of conflict. The day is
dedicated to peace, or the absence of war, such as might be occasioned
by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone. It is observed by many
nations, political groups, military groups and people.
To inaugurate the day, the 'Peace Bell' is rung at UN Headquarters.
The bell is cast from coins donated by children from all continents. It
was given as a gift by the Diet of Japan (Japanese Parliament) and is
referred to as 'a reminder of the human cost of war.' The inscription on
its side reads: 'Long live absolute world peace.'
Ramadhan festival
Our Muslim brothers and sisters along with Muslims all over the world
will join in celebrating Id-uI-Fitr (the Ramadhan Festival) next week.
Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and indulging in
anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until sunset during
the month of Ramadhan. Fasting is meant to teach the Muslim patience,
modesty and spirituality. During Ramadhan, Muslims ask forgiveness for
past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils
and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds.
Dates of Ramadan vary, moving forward about ten days each year as it is
a moving festival depending on the moon. Let me wish all our Muslim
friends a happy Ramadhan.
Bye for now.
- Aunt Anji
My country
Sri Lanka is known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean. Our main food is
rice. There are different nationalities in our country.
They are Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and Burghers. Capital city of our
country is Sri Jayawardanapura, Kotte. Colombo is the commercial capital
of Sri Lanka. Na tree is our national tree. Our national flower is blue
water lily. Sri Lanka jungle fowl is our national bird.
Our national game is volleyball. Sinharaja forest is the largest
forest in our country. There are beautiful water falls like Dunhidha and
Diyaluma. Bambara Kandha is the highest water fall in Sri Lanka.
There are rivers like Mahaweli, Kalani Kalu and Walawe. They all
started from the Samanala mountain. The largest river is Mahawlei river.
Kalani river is the widest river in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is a beautiful island. I love my country very much.
Ovinya Dewni Siriwardhana, 4 EB, Sujatha Vidyalaya, Nugegoda
My school
The name of my school is Sujatha Vidyalaya. My school is situated at
Nugegoda. There are classes from Grade one to twelve. There are many
teachers and children. I love my school very much
Jinathi Kodikara - 2 EA - Sujatha Vidyalaya, Nugegoda
Anagarika Dharmapala
He showed the right path
To a dependant nation
Lost among
The tempestuous waters
of change
He became a beacon of light
Lighting up the path
The right path
For lost souls
To follow
He is immortal
In the hearts
of a whole nation
As the saviour
Of a Glorious culture.
This poem is written to commemorate the 145th Birth Anniversary of
Anagarika
Dharmapala, which falls today (17).
Nillasi Liyanage Grade 10F Musaeus College Colombo 7
Bye dear friend
The path in
which we walked,
Taking hand in hand,
Is covered;
With the dim autumn leaves.
All the mischievous
work we did,
Together while enjoying,
Will soon be just
our past dreams.
Just as we met,
At the same class;
We are now going to part,
At the same class.
Just like two sisters,
In the white school gowns,
We always,
talked and joked,
With friendly thoughts.
But the day has come,
For us to part,
Thinking all the things
we did,
As lovely happenings
of the past.
And I'll just remind
you friend,
That every meeting ends with parting;
And, at the end of every parting ....,
There's a meeting.
D. W. Lilani Anuruddhika, 8 H Sanghamiththa Balika Vidyalaya, Galle
An eerie sound -
Part 54
Uncle Sachi and Aunt Ruwi
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...
 There was a sudden glow and he felt as
if the coolness which had descended upon him hours earlier melting away.
He staggered, nearly losing his balance. His limbs ached and his feet
almost felt numb but the best thing was, he could move! He could
actually move his arms and legs!
Chinthaka was dazed with relief as he slumped into the arms of the
weird but kind looking little woman before him.
"There, there child... All is well now...," the gnome was whispering
soothingly. Embarrassed he regained his balance by clutching onto the
trunk of a tree nearby.
Back on his feet he suddenly remembered the evil object which he had
been clutching. He cast a quick glance towards that direction and was
surprised to see that it had turned into a dull brownish shade. It
looked like any of the ordinary stones he had come across in his life.
"Is- is it ...dead?" he couldn't help questioning aloud.
The little woman chuckled.
"Ah, yes. There isn't a thing in the world which can beat pure
emotions ... like the love of a mother towards her child...," she said.
"I... er, don't understand..."
"There are many things that most of us cannot explain... and there
are many more that are better left unsaid. You will come to realize
these things with time, my child."
She smiled as the puzzled look deepened in his face.
"Come. Tell me how you ended up the way you were. There are people to
guard this place. How come they did not help you out?" Emida asked.
"There were two people who, er..., looked like you... Well, at least
one did while the other looked like a kind of fairy. They took my
brothers and sister away with them..."
"You mean there are more of you?"
Chinthaka studied the old woman. She was plump, short and dark but,
he decided that she had kind eyes. He felt that he could trust her with
the tale of the strange happenings and seek help. After all, she did
rescue him from being paralyzed for life!
"There are four of us. You see, this is how it happened..."
Half way through the tale they paused and picked up their ears.
"Oooooooooooooooooooooo.... Aw...Aw.... Wooooooooooo"
An eerie noise blew in along with the air and seemed to be coming out
of the treetops.
"What is that?" a startled Emida exclaimed. Chinthaka too was
clueless. Who on earth was making such a racket?
(To be continued)
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