Children

Counting elephants, leopards

Dear children,

Sri Lanka is home to thousands of elephants. File photo

Sri Lanka which has a proud and ancient culture is famous for many things. Tea, gems and beautiful sandy beaches.

Our country is also known throughout the world for elephants. The Kandy Perahera features many elephants.

Did you know that Sri Lanka conducted the first nationwide survey of its elephant population last week?

The survey was aimed at better protecting elephants and their habitat.

Over 3,500 people were involved in the elephant survey or census from watchtowers and posts at 1,500 watering holes and ancient irrigation lakes. Elephants who are revered in our ancient Buddhist culture as sacred were classified by age and gender to get an idea of their movements. The census also hopes to declare new protected areas for elephants.

Did you know children with the elephant survey over, the Wildlife Conservation Department is now planning to conduct a census of leopards found in forest and sanctuaries?

This is probably the first time that a census of leopards is to be carried out in Sri Lanka.

Bye for now. Enjoy holidays. - Aunt Anji

Read a Book

Mergen and His Friends

Hello friends,

How is the vacation going? You know, vacations are privileges enjoyed by only a few. Most of us don’t have long breaks like schoolchildren and schoolteachers, so enjoy it to your best.

You know that we are reading folk tales these days. This week I have come with Mergen and His Friends, A Nanai folk tale. Jim Riordan has translated this tale into English and Gennady Pavlishin has drawn very colourful and amazing pictures for this story. The book is published by Progress Publishers, Moscow.

Now, in this book we meet both animal and human friends. When you read it you might realize that there are so many other similar stories. I have come across many other stories with similar plots. What does this say?

Have you noticed that there are so many similarities in folk tales from different parts of the world? Often you have the same story from different countries, with slight differences in the stories. How does this happen? How come there are so many similarities in literature from different parts of the world? Remember, these stories were told and written down long before we got television and internet to connect with the world.

Can you remember last time I suggested that you find some common themes like beauty and wisdom in folk tales? In this story also we find such themes. What are they? Mergen is introduced as a bold and skilful hunter. The girl who wins his heart is a very beautiful maid. When Mergen expresses his interest in marrying this girl, her father assigns him with three impossible tasks that he manages to get through with the help of his animal friends. This makes him the hero of the story. What do you think of all this?

So, during your school holidays you can do a lot of reading and writing too. If you still haven’t started keeping a journal, to comment on what you read, this is a good time to think about it. And, if you are interested in writing, creative writing I think holidays are a good time to write your poems and stories. If you like you can show your writing to your family and friends and even get them published in newspapers. However, if you don’t want to show your writing to others you can always keep them for yourself. It’s up to you to decide.

I hope you will spend more time in reading and writing this vacation.

See you next week with another wonderful book!

Bye for now. - Gayathri

Sunflower	My home	Tattoo
M Saranya Grade 3 Kingston College International , Wellawatte	Tevindu Damsith Grade 1 Mince International School, Pitakotte	Damien John Jayatilaka 5E2, St Peter’s College Colombo 4

Boy	Butterfly	Going to temple
S Vithurna Grade 3, Kingston College International Wellawatte	S Thuvasan Grade 3, Kingston College International, Wellawatte	Sulani Nisalma Weerasekara 3EA Sujatha Vidyalaya, Nugegoda
Mickey	Our garden	Racing car
Moksha Jeerasinghe 3EA, Sujatha Vidyalaya, Nugegoda	W L Hesandi Hithara 3EA, Sujatha Vidyalaya, Nugegoda	D Kavinesh Grade 3, Kingston College International, Wellawatte

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A ceremony to invoke blessings on students of Sri Sanghamitta Vidyalaya, Punchi Borella, sitting the Grade Five scholarship examination was held at the school premises recently on the initiative of Principal Vinitha Jayaweera. Here the Maha Sangha led by Ven Mamandale Wimale Thera of the Sri Lanaka Vidyalaya Maha Pirivena blessing the students by tying Pirith nool on their hands after chanting Seth Pirith. Picture by Saman Sri Wedage

The English Day 2011 of K/Tissa Central College was held on August 3 at the College Main Hall. The colourful programme which included songs, dramas and dances, showcased the linguistic and aesthetic talents of the students and was organized by the English section of the school under the supervision of Principal Maithreepala Liyanaarachchi. The chief guest of the occasion was the Additional Director of English Ranjith Padmasiri while the Divisional Director of Education Nalini Abeysiriwardana and several other distinguished guests were also present.

Sarvodaya Pre-school, Athurugiriya held their annual Perahera recently. Here, some students parading the streets.