Scholarships from AidtoSchools

Three students from St. Anthony's received scholarships from AidtoSchools in their second round of Scholarships to needy students in rural schools in Sri Lanka.  Four volunteers headed by Mr. Asitha Wimalasena came all the way to Wasalakotte to handover the scholarships to the students and meet their families.  We are very thankful to AidtoSchools for caring so much about the poor children in our school, and we do hope that this relationship will continue to grow and that we will be able to wipe away the tears of more children in the future.  AidtoSchools and their donors can be happy knowing that the future of these children and their families will be better thanks to your kindness and generosity.

Sri Lanka Schools Color Awards - 2012

Two handball players of our school, Thakshila Roshini Wijeratne and Inosha Malkanthi, received colors at the Sri Lanka Schools Color Awards - 2012 held at the BMICH on September 27, 2013. Hon. Bandula Gunawardane, Minister of Education was the Chief Guest of this event organized by Sri Lanka School Sports Council for the 20th consecutive year with the patronage of Nestle Lanka PLC.

While congratulating the two players, we wish to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Sri Lanka Schools Handball Association, Mr. Senarath Senanayake, National Handball coach, Mr. Chae Geonsu, Handball Coach from Korea, parents and well-wishers for their untiring efforts to make handball a popular game in Sri Lanka.

English Essays for Kids

Foreword

Statistical information on overall performance in the English Language at the G.C.E. (Ordinary Level) Examination shows that the students obtain fewer marks for writing tasks.  Only a very few students attempt the writing tasks although the topics are text-based and are familiar to them.

Lack of suitable reading materials for students have long been the reason for weaker performance in writing at the G.C.E. (O/L) Examination.  It is hoped that the materials included in this page would be a valuable asset to students in improving their writing skills.

Parallel writing can be used as an effective method of practicing writing.  With little or no assistance from a teacher students would be able to attempt to write similar essays successfully.

Our thanks are due to the students who contributed essays to make this section a fruitful one.

Myself

My name is Kumari.  I am 14 years old.  I live in Galewela.  I have a brother and no sisters.  My father is a bus driver.  My mother is a housewife. 

I study at Galewela Central College.  I am in Grade 9.  My favorite subject is English. 

My hobby is reading.  I want to be a teacher one day.

My Mother

My mother’s name is Shanthi.  She is 34 years old.  She is very beautiful.

She loves me very much.  She helps me in my studies.  She cooks food, washes my clothes and keeps the house and clean and tidy.  In her spare time, she likes to read books.

My mother works as a teacher at a government school.  She goes to work by bus.  She likes her job very much.

My Family

My name is Sandun.  There are four members in my family.  They are my mother, father, sister and I.  We live in Dambulla.

I am 15 years old.  My sister is two years younger to me.  Her name is Mali.  We study at Dambulla Central College.  We go to school on foot.

My father’s name is Nimal.  He is a farmer.  He cultivates paddy and vegetables.  My mother’s name is Manel.  She helps my father in his work.

We love one another very much.  We are a happy family.

My Best Friend

My best friend’s name is Thushara.  He is 12 years old.  He lives in Wasalakotte.  He studies at St. Anthony’s High School.  He is in Grade 7.

He has a brother and two sisters.  They also attend St. Anthony’s high School.  Their father works abroad.  Their mother is a preschool teacher.

Thushara is a very clever student.  He likes science and English very much.  He plays handball for the Under 13 team in school.  His ambition is to become a doctor one day.

My Village

My village is Galgodayaya.  It is a small village in Matale District.  It belongs to Dambulla Electorate.

There are about 170 families in my village.  The main occupation of the villagers is farming.  They grow paddy and vegetables in their fields and gardens.

There is a catholic church and a school in my village.  There is also a community hall and a dispensary in the village.

The people of my village are very poor.  But they live in peace and harmony.

My School

My school is Akuramboda Junior School.  It situated at Akuramboda.  It belongs to the Galewela Education Zone.  It is a mixed school.

There are about 250 students and 25 teachers in my school.  The name of our Principal is Mr. Saman Weerasinghe. 

We have a library and a laboratory.  We have a playground too.  The school starts at 7:30 AM and ends at 1:30 PM.  The interval is from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM. 

We learn many subjects and do many sports at school.  We also learn good manners and habits.  I am proud to be a student of Akuramboda Junior School.

Scholarships from AidtoSchools

     AidToSchools is a non-profit organization operating from the United Kingdom, trying to build a bridge between rural schools in Sri Lanka and expatriate Sri Lankan community in the UK and elsewhere in the world.  We came across this organization in the internet and requested them to visit our blog and see if our school meets their criteria for assistance. 

They promptly responded to our email and informed that they have recently  launched a scholarship program to assist needy school children in Sri Lanka, and that they could offer a few scholarships to our school too if the criteria matches with any of our students.

Initially, the scholarship will pay Rs. 1000/= each per month for a period of 24 months for the selected children.  AidToSchools strongly believes in the Principal's recommendation as a key deciding factor and the child should come from a needy family and have good educational achievements - i.e. Grade 5 Scholarship Examination, G.C.E. (O/L) Examination etc.

Although many of our students come from needy families, 07 students have been selected for the first round from Grade 6 – 13 classes with the help of the Class Teachers. 

Mr. Sujeeva Wijeratne, our Deputy Principal,  organizes this project with the help of Mrs. K.W.C. Jayanthi, the Class Teacher of Grade 8, who has volunteered to assist him.  Selection of students, filling forms, record keeping etc. will be handled by her in consultation with the other Class Teachers.  Further information on this project will follow soon.

Girls' Handball

Under 19 Antonian girls (wearing yellow) emerged Cup First Runner Up at the Sri Lanka Inter School Handball Championship - 2012 held in Colombo.  We owe our gratitude to Mr. Chae Geon -Su and Mr. Senarath Senanayake of Handball Federation of Sri Lanka who helped us in training these girls.  Our thanks are also due to Mr. Sujeeva Wijeratne, our Deputy Principal for without his courage and dedication our girls wouldn't have come this far.  

Help Wanted

The main building of the Primary Section which was built over 50 years ago needs to be repaired soon.  It houses over 100 students whose parents are not in a position to bear the costs of the repair as they have a greater battle to fight.  That is to earn the daily bread.  Most of the mothers work in the middle-east as housemaids for a monthly income of 10 to 15 thousand rupees.  Any kind-hearted individual or an institution  willing to help us repair this building is welcome to contact us at gemisaviya@gmail.com or The Principal, St. Anthony's High School, Wasalakotte - 21160, Central Province, Sri Lanka.  

Shoes from ECS

ECS World, USA has generously donated shoes to the students of the Primary Section this year.  Over 100 girls and boys received shoes under this program.  We're very thankful to Mrs. Srini Perera and her family for caring to share their resources with our students. Mr. Sujeeva Wijeratne, the Deputy Principal of the school coordinated this event.

Annual Trip

 

Dannish Volunteers

We have had the privilege of getting the services of volunteers from Denmark to teach English at our school through the kind coordination of Service Civil International - Sri Lanka.  We are very thankful to Mr. Gunadasa Jayawickrema for assisting us on this project.  This project was coordinated by Mr. Sujeeva Wijeratne, the Deputy Principal of the school.

Introduction

St. Anthony’s High School, Wasalakotte, established in 1825, by late Rev. Father Jeranimo Michael, an Italian missionary priest, is a unique school with an enviable reputation.  Although the school was handed over to government administration in 1961, the close relationship with the nearby church, the National Shrine of St. Anthony, has not been affected.  Today, the school is attached to Galewela Education Office of the Central Province. 

There are about 400 students in classes from Grade 1 to 13.  In the Advanced Level classes only arts and commerce subjects are taught.  The majority of the students are Catholics from Wasalakotte, and the majority of the teachers are Buddhists from the neighboring villages. Most students come from farming families.  There is a large number of students whose mothers work abroad.  Also there are students who come from the orphanage attached to the shrine.  The staff consists of a principal, a deputy principal, 28 teachers, a financial assistant and an office assistant.

The facilities include a science laboratory, a computer unit, a library and an English Books Only library.  Although there are facilities for athletics, basketball, volleyball and netball only handball is taken seriously and dedicatedly by the students.  As a result, the school has been able to rock the school sports in Sri Lanka by winning many handball championships in 2012.

English Day

English Day 2012 of the school was celebrated on January 26, 2012.   Mr. A.H.M.H.A. Herath, Zonal Director of Education, Galewela  and Mrs. R.K.H. Ranasinghe, Assistant Director of Education for English, Galewela  graced the occasion as guests.  It was a day full of fun and activities – singing, dancing, acting etc. - for students.  Those who had performed well the previous year received certificates.  Mr. Sujeeva Wijeratne, the Deputy Principal organized this event with the assistance of Mrs. Janaki De Silva and Miss  M.G.N.D. Udayanganie, the English Teachers.

     

Mission

St. Anthony’s High School is a Roman Catholic school rooted in the seraphic principle "Get wisdom.  Get understanding." (Holy Bible) Our mission is to give every student an equal opportunity for his/her wholesome growth with a quality and creative education.  Such a growth which is evidently physical will also be intellectual, spiritual, formative and instructive to make them more useful members of society with proper moral values, motivated to serve society.

To this we commit ourselves:

• To produce patriotic, self-disciplined and committed citizens, free from prejudices and discrimination based on sex, religion, caste or status, and characterized by respect for the dignity of each other.
• To strive to help meet the demands of our national goals and aspirations through the national academic curriculum balanced by co and extra-curricular activities, geared towards the current needs of the nation and grow into selfless and responsive agents of change, when required, for the uplift of the quality of human life.
• To promote leadership by encouraging students to see issues from a variety of viewpoints and to make mature choices based on justice and selflessness.
• To assist with the building and enriching of a spirit of dedicated service among the staff members, students and parents.
• To ensure that the staff exercises a unique role and have a special responsibility in the success of each student.
• To regularly meet and dialogue with the parents, thus communicating our education program to them and seek their active involvement.

New Year