The Term 3 CACTUS group began this Monday in hardly tropical conditions, as it was -3 degrees. 

With 32 students ready to go at 6:20am, our 11th term of CACTUS was underway. Sadly we did not have room for all those who applied and those names go to the top of the pile for next time. The first day always promises to be a shock to the system for many and things only get easier, as fitness levels and mental capacity increase.

Each term we are always looking to improve the programme and add new things. This term we are changing our fitness testing, as we look to hit new limits and increase our results. We are also looking at changing our longest day to include new challenges, environments and surroundings. We now have our Kaiapoi CACTUS Facebook page cranking along and each week you can follow what we do and see the groups develop. This page was really popular last term as we used live video feeds. An exchange student from Switzerland said her mother loved this as she could watch her daughter from the other side of the world.

I would like to thank our sponsors, Hamills North Canterbury, who have donated our tops. Without their support we simply would not be able to get by. If you can support Hamills by shopping there, it would be great to return the support they give us. If you or anyone you know would like to sponsor CACTUS, please let me know. We can return the favour with Facebook advertising and signage on our shirts.

Scott Liddell, CACTUS Coordinator