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Uyuhansi talks about becoming a good speaker 

07 Mar 2021

By Kusumanjalee Thilakarathna Photos Pradeep Dambarage      Today, our spotlight is on a nine-year-old student from Gateway College, Ratmalana, Uyuhansi Fernando, who excels in English speech and writing. Currently, she lives in Moratuwa with her parents and her younger sister Chenuli.    Uyuhansi, tell us more about yourself.  My full name is Uyuhansi Sneha Fernando and I was born in Dubai. My birthday is on 14 May. My father, Chamara Fernando, is working in Dubai and my mother Nilakshi is the General Manager at Sri Lanka Expeditions. I am nine years and nine months old. I have a younger sister. I joined Gateway College, Ratmalana in January 2019 and before that, I was a student of Gems Winchester School, United Arab Emirates (UAE). I went to Little Oaks British Nursery in the UAE. I have long hair and I love maintaining it.    Tell us about your achievements too.  I am well versant in the English Language, both oral and written. And I always participate in competitions involving skills in written and oral, speech and drama, singing, dancing, and also compering. I used to participate in these competitions while I was in Dubai too and I do so now as well, at Gateway. I also take part in school dance programmes. I am a member of the choir and also a student of Chandana Wickramasinghe’s Dancers’ Guild.    What are your other interests?  I love Korean music and I also love to sing. My favourite food includes sushi, Sri Lankan rice and curry, and milk rice. My favourite tv show is Henry Danger. I enjoy reading books and writing articles for newspapers. I was very excited to see my work published in Little Stars. I contribute to other children’s papers too. My favourite movies are Descendants, parts one, two, and three. I also draw and my favourite way to colour is to use pastels. During the day, my favourite thing to do is to chit chat with my mother – she is my best friend. The books I love are Roald Dahl books, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Famous Five, Secret Princesses, and Secret Kingdom. I have a good collection of books. I love exploring STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) kits for science and DIY (do-it-yourself) experiments. I thank Ms. Kanthi Ekanayake and Ms. Nuwanthika Kaldera for helping us explore new things. I believe that everything is theoretically impossible until it is done; so I love experiments. My passion is dancing. I love dancing. Ms. Gayani Marandawela is my dancing teacher and she recognised my dancing skills and gave me many opportunities to take part in school events. With her guidance, now I am a student of Chandana Wickramasinghe Dancers’ Guild.  Also, Ms. Shazminah Fawaz is so special because she was my class teacher in years three and four, and I still remember how she welcomed me on my first day of school.   Who inspired you to write for newspapers? Ms. Ruklanthi Sudar – my English teacher – and also my mother. My mother encourages me to read a lot. Ms. Ruklanthi always inspires me and encourages me to improve my writing skills and get to know new words. Because of her encouragement, I wrote how I felt about my dream of “Going to School”, and I am so glad and extremely happy to say that it was published in the paper.    What is your ambition? When I grow up, I want to become a doctor because I love helping others. In school, I help all my friends.   Can you share what you experienced while schooling from home? Even during this pandemic situation in the country, thanks to Dr. Harsha Alles, the Chairman, who allowed us to study online via MS (Microsoft) Teams with the same school time table, we are studying in our online school. Also, we wear the uniform during class. Our online school is monitored by our management.  Our Deputy Principal Mrs. Kanzul Firdous monitors our classes and visits to see how we are working. So, I am happy to say we didn’t miss any lessons. And a big thank you to all my teachers for their hard work and dedication.   What’s special about Korean music? Why is it your favourite? I love Korean music because it has beautiful vocals and unique music; also, beautiful choreography. So this made me especially love their music.  I love some of the 70s, 80s, and 90s music as well. Some of my favourites are Footloose, Daddy Cool, and Dancing Queen.   Can you tell us a little bit about your life in the UAE? Well, honestly, when it was decided that I was to come to Sri Lanka, I didn’t like it. I didn’t want to leave my home, my school in Dubai, my friends. But now, I have fallen in love with my beautiful Sri Lanka. I love the environment and nature here. It is so green. Unfortunately, I still couldn’t experience many places, but I have been to a few beautiful places. The most unforgettable trip was when I travelled to Kandy via train. It was a great experience. Also, I love rice and curry, milk rice, and I know how to cook milk rice and lunu miris. My mother taught me a few dishes and I love cooking. Also now, I have made new friends here, and I love my school and most importantly, I am blessed with love from my grandparents.   Tell us about your daily routine. How do you balance your time between schoolwork and extracurriculars?  My online school starts at 8.10 a.m., and we have a break at 10.50 a.m., and again from 11.20 a.m. till 1 p.m., I am managing my time to revise my lessons again. I play a little with my sister and also watch TV.  Then, I start my homework and observe pansil in the evening. I have learnt many gathas after coming to Sri Lanka and my favourite gatha is Nara Seeha Gatha and I can sing it very nicely.   How does reading newspapers help you to improve yourself? You get to know new words. So what I do is I check the meaning of those words on Google. I also realised that my vocabulary and writing skills are improving day by day. Whenever I am free, I read something, and it has now become a habit. Also, I love to do the puzzles in the kids’ section.     Can you share a few tips with our Little Stars readership that will help them improve their skills in giving speeches? I have participated in school speeches in Gems Winchester School, Dubai. I compered for primary school events. From there, I got the necessary exposure and I wasn't scared to speak up in front of an audience.  Also, whenever I am practising, I go in front of the mirror and do it, and then I feel how I have to present myself. Don’t be shy to speak up and present yourself in front of an audience. Feel free to make expressions. Clarity of voice is very important. My message to Little Stars’ readers is that they should start reading daily, as it helps to increase your vocabulary and comprehension and keeps your mind healthy; so that, in a crowd, you are confident to talk.


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