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Nearly-expelled pupil now at sister Hillside campus

ST. PETERS--A nine-year-old child has returned to school after an attempt to expel him from Hillside Christian Schools Asha Stevens Campus.

After a line-up of warnings by the school on the child and his brother, and a meeting with Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs (ECSY) Inspection Division Truancy Officers, a Court of Guardianship (CoG) representative and the child’s parents, the Hillside Christian Schools board arranged for the child to be enrolled in its Helmich Snijders Campus.

Switching the child to a school with Dutch as the language of instruction was not a preferred solution, but the school board made the decision after the meeting on the urgent case and a subsequent notification that the board would be solely responsible for enrolling him in another school Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The 9th annual Crystal Pineapple Awards Gala Event, held on Friday November 21st 2014, by the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), was an outstanding and spectacular event. The evening saw 19 persons receive awards in the categories of Accommodations, Trade, and Community Service, as well as 6 persons /organizations in the extraordinary categories. The SHTA extends congratulations to all the nominees and winners of the 9th annual Crystal Pineapple Awards.
Guests were treated to a visual oasis of black & white with purple accents by Glitter Events who was contracted to transform the venue into a magical ambiance suitable only for St, Maarten's best and brightest stars in the Tourism arena.
The gala event was held at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino which has been the host venue for many years to the event Read more

Crystal Pineapple Awards A Grand Success

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – The 9th annual Crystal Pineapple Awards Gala Event, held on Friday November 21st 2014, by the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), was an outstanding and spectacular event.

The evening saw 19 persons receive awards in the categories of Accommodations, Trade, and Community Service, as well as 6 persons /organizations in the extraordinary categories.

The SHTA extends congratulations to all the nominees and winners of the 9th annual Crystal Pineapple Awards.

Guests were treated to a visual oasis of black & white with purple accents by Glitter Events who was contracted to transform the venue into a magical ambiance suitable only for St, Maarten's best and brightest stars in the Tourism arena.

The gala event was held at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino which has been the host venue for many years to the event.

The resort also prepared a sumptuous and elaborate culinary extravaganza complete with living statutes which included more than ten live food stations, expertly prepared dishes such as a giant Paella, Sushi & Sashimi platters, roast leg of Lamb, Chateau Briand and a sumptuous dessert selection ranging from an array of cheeses and fruit to Sonesta's signature pastries.

The Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Anenda Zaandam, who tied the evening together along with board members and experts of the industry presenting the various awards.

Singers ARIAS opened with the National Anthem & closed the evening with a heart-warming "Time to say Goodbye" Read more

Ninth Crystal Pineapple Awards:  Shta Posthumously Honors Erika Cannegieter-Smith   

St. Maarten – The Crystal Pineapple Awards ceremony tends to get a bit rowdy towards the end of the evening – the result of a sumptuous dinner, a couple of glasses of wine and good company. On Friday evening the buzz stopped abruptly when Ricardo Perez and Lorraine Talmi announced the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association’s Person of the Year: Erika Cannegieter-Smith, the founder of the Be the Change Foundation  and former sales manager and event planner at the Radisson Hotel on the French side who succumbed on August 22 to cancer at the age of 36 Read more

Tourism industry stars honoured at 9th Crystal Pineapple Awards

MAHO--Top performers across the different sectors of the tourism industry were honoured once again at the ninth annual Crystal Pineapple Awards organised by the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) at repeat gala host Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and Casino on Friday night, November 21.

Sonesta's conference room formed a mecca for the who's who of the tourism industry, as a jam-packed room of professionals enjoyed a five-star buffet dinner, silent auction, song and dance performances by ARIAS and Dance Theatre of St Read more

Pupil expulsion not valid, school seeks assistance

CAY HILL--A couple describing themselves as very "angry parents" reported to The Daily Herald that their nine-year-old child, who attends Hillside Christian Schools Asha Stevens Campus, has been expelled, a decision with which they fervently disagree and say is not allowed under St. Maarten's stand on compulsory education.

The school has described a situation of uncooperative parents and disruptive and dangerous behaviour by the pupil, stating that action is needed for both his safety and that of other pupils.

Amongst other warnings, the pupil was suspended for aggressive behaviour near the end of the last school year Read more