Blueprints & Drafting fundamentals

Just wanted to say congratulations to the core class this semester for keeping up with the module exams, and remind all that in order to receive certification status with NCCER all 8 module tests must pass with a score of 70% or better. So far students in the Fundamentals course have completed 3 of the 8 and are doing quite well as a group.

We start learning how to read, interpret, scale & draw blueprints this week, so everyone must remain focused on the classwork. We will get to have some fun times inside the shop again since you must demonstrate the ability to correctly interpret the plans and physically construct objects in this module. Each student must bring their safety glasses to the classroom each day and be prepared to enter the shop when circumstances permit. Think safety 1st, have fun and learn how to read the ruler and understand the drawings.

Wonder how this can benefit you later? Most people are lost when it comes to reading various types of plans. You will learn several different formats, views & scales. This is a great way to be introduced into drafting as a profession as well. If you like to draw & also like computers, take a look at how much the average salary is for professional CAD operators & software engineers for CAD programs is this year at the link below:

http://www.indeed.com/salary?q1=Draftsman&l1=

By the way, even my advance students will be doing some refresher drills with these skills this month as well.

See you in class & take care!

- Mr. G

ETL / CEFGA Review & Open House

Just wanted to say thank you first to the parents who came in on Thursday to visit & check on the progress of the students. Seeing parents who want to be involved in the students education is a big boost to helping me stay focused on what they learn in the classroom & lab.

Last week was a huge week for the South Cobb Construction program since we also had a stage II accreditation review by the ETL team & CEFGA. The students worked like real pros in the lab that day, completing 3 full walls and demonstrating plate layout, corner & partition stud framing. You could not be in the presence of the students on Friday and not be thoroughly impressed. Thank you all for working so hard to help make the program better. I am glad I can be your Instructor. We should know in a few months if we will earn the accreditation.

- Mr. G

Building green is the future

Green is going to be the future of construction. What does "green" technology mean to workers that have been relying on old skills & ways of doing business? It means you better learn to adapt & understand what the market wants, because that is ultimately what employers will be looking for in new workers. If you want a job in construction (or many other fields for that matter), you better get used to the new "green" so you can make some greenback dollars in the end.

Let's get used to green technology and how it affects what we learn in the classroom.

http://www.seiu.org/mt/mt-search.cgi?blog_id=1&tag=energy%20efficiency&limit=20
Click the link above for the story, be sure to leave a comment on what you learned from it.

- Mr. G

NCCER Certified Students

Update as of 8/07/09

The following students have had the request for NCCER certification cards & transcripts submitted. The cards should arrive within the next month!

10 Students achieved the success of NCCER Level 1 Certification in Safety & Fundamentals of Construction. Will you? It takes hard work, determination & skill to earn it. Ask any of these students to show you the card and tell you what they learned:

Roberts , Bernard
Cole , Alexander
Empie , Bryan Delos
Forbes , Jayquan C
Harrison , Eric
Johnson , Ashante' N
Kincaid , Robert M
Mitchell , Kellie D
Spann , Isaiah M
Stitts , JaKevin D


- Mr. G

Welcome

Just wanted to say welcome back to all my previous students & Hello to new students enrolled in the South Cobb High School Construction & Occupational Safety Fundamentals courses.

I hope we can make this a great year, add some excitement, learn together & most importantly "have fun" doing it!

If your new to the coursework, you can earn a certification from NCCER.org and continue from there learning hands on skills in the Carpentry, Electrical, Plumbing, Masonry trades. There will be opportunity to hear from our sponsors at CEFGA on apprentice programs as well as other local industry guest speakers.

I am going to try to make this blog as interactive as possible, perhaps even giving out employability points or weekly graded assignments based upon what I create here. So please check back often and leave me some productive feedback.

- Mr. G