Back to School: Round 3, Week 1

This is it! The final block of schooling for my apprenticeship! After this, I have enough hours to switch from Apprentice Class to Journeyperson Candidate, which means I have completed the requirements for my apprenticeship, and qualify to write my Certificate of Qualification exam.

I'll be honest this first week of school has been tough, as I've been dealing with the fallout from a car accident two weeks ago. Thankfully the first week is mostly introduction to the courses and some review from the last term. Due to the college strike last Fall, our 10 week course has been reduced down to 9. The classroom hours are the same, just spread out over less weeks. In addition to that, the Certificate of Qualification Prep Course has been made mandatory by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development.

The Certificate of Qualification exam has such a high fail rate (for its high level of difficulty) that many people have to take it a second or third time. To assist those to pass on the first attempt, they've changed the rules on the prep course. The only issue with the method of distribution for our group is that the classes run concurrent to our Advanced level classes. We haven't learnt everything we may be tested on yet. Previously it would run as an extra week after you've completed the normal 10 weeks of trade school. It certainly adds to our workload.

Even though it's been a couple years since the last time I was in school, it's not taking to long to clear out the cobwebs. In no time, I'll be right back on my game, and ideally by the end, ready to rock the exam to get my license!

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The "Social Impacts" of a Female Working with "Mostly Male Construction Workers"

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Three Seconds

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Back to School: Round 2, Week 10

Well, this was a hell week. Tests, assignments and labs in just about every class, which translates to 1 or more assessments each day. That alone was enough to keep my brain busy. Unfortunately, I had some personal stuff to cope with as well, and that only served to take up some much needed mental capacity. I was determined to start this week off right. I knew it was going to be crazy, so I was trying to have the right attitude to serve me through all of the tests to come. That didn't last long. I had a test in my second class on Monday that I somehow was not aware of (which is not like me to not be on top of those things.) This misstep seemed to set the tone for the rest of my week. I passed the test, but it wasn't with what I would normally be okay with. I had to let that go, so I could carry on. I still had another test that afternoon. Wednesday was most certainly the hump day. Sometimes you don't realize how much you are holding yourself together until you fall apart....

The Sparks Lady

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