The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival celebrated 25 years of bringing free music to the Bay Area this past weekend. Nicknamed Hardly Strictly for short, the event attracts thousands of people every year to enjoy live music completely without charge in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. A returning festival-goer said, “I think it’s one of the greatest things about San Francisco.”
Varsity sports may be challenging for the average high school student, but these tremendous athletes play multiple sports. Cainen Cisneros, Jasper Graf, Noga Wallach, Lise Arnuad, and Muhammed Amin all play two or more varsity sports.
California Youth & Government (Y&G) is a program offered at Albany High school that gives students across California the opportunity to experience government, by simulating the state's legislative, judicial, and executive branches. Delegates– members of the program–engage in conferences, debates and mock government sessions. This teaches students leadership, teamwork, public speaking, and critical thinking. There are many different program areas, such as the Board of Education, Apellete Court, Department of Finace, International Convention, and many more.
Gwen Pingree Dave Beza has been the Albany High School varsity girls volleyball head coach since 2020. When he went on paternity leave last season, Theresa Lieu stepped in. She focused on varsity while Dave Owen, the JV coach at the time, managed his team. Lieu and Owen collaborated on ...
Though it is a small and little-known class, Fitness and Weight Training is a hidden gem that students are loving. This P.E elective is available to juniors and seniors, where students use the weight room to build the body they want for themselves and learn about healthy habits.
Mr Janinis, an Albany High School physical education teacher, and track and field and boys soccer coach has gone on paternity leave.
“[I’m] old enough to retire, my wife is retired, and I would like to do more things with my wife.”
This school year, the English department decided to create a new requirement for enrolling in English 3 Honors and AP English Literature and Composition after an influx of struggle in classes. Students needed to maintain Bs or better in their English courses and most controversially, they needed to show proficiency writing a timed CER paragraph.
On April 23, 2025, Albany High School’s boys baseball team played against Pinole Valley High School. During the game, the Pinole Valley team jeered, barked, and shouted racist remarks at Asian players on our team. When The Cougar reached out to several athletes on our boys baseball team, they all declined to comment as they had been advised by Coach John Anderson.
Opening a new book can be an exciting experience, with the reader running their hand along the pages, eager to discover the story within. Reading and analyzing books is a near-universal practice for students worldwide, and at AHS, it almost always begins in English classes. These books have been selected by teachers whose focus is on teaching important works of classic literature while incorporating relevant topics such as race, religion, gender, and more. However, while balancing these two aspects of their curriculum each year, teachers try to find new ways to keep students engaged with their reading as well as helping them understand the nuances of the people and cultures around them.
