Northwest suburban briefs

Arlington center has memory screenings

Free confidential memory screenings will be available between 9 a.m. and noon Tuesday, Nov. 18 at the Arlington Heights Senior Center, 1801 W. Central. Special presentations will also be conducted at 9:30 a.m. and again at 11 a.m. The first presentation topic will be on "Geriatric Assessment Programs" and the second topic of the morning will be "Normal Aging vs. Dementia." No registration is needed for the presentations or the free screenings, which will be ongoing throughout the morning. Call (847) 253-5532.

NSDAR offers essay contest

The Eli Skinner Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution announces the annual American History Essay Competition for public, private, parochial and registered home study students in grades five through eight. The topic for the 300 to 1,000 word essay is "What message did the Gettysburg Address communicate to our war-torn nation in 1863?" How are the ideals articulated in the speech still relevant for our country today?" The winner will receive a bronze DAR history medal. Essays are due by Monday, Nov. 17. They should be sent to Eli Skinner American History chairs Carole Komarek at carolekarts@aol.com or Mary Stitt at mary.stitt@sbcglobal.net. For details, call (847) 253-2308 or (847) 253-0671.

PHS is Grammy finalist

Prospect High School's Music Department has recently been named a 2008-2009 Grammy Foundation Signature School Finalist. The Grammy Foundation Signature Schools program honors the top public high schools in the nation for outstanding commitment to their music education programs. Determined on a basis of a scoring system and judged by top music educators and professionals in the field, selected schools are awarded grants for their music departments. As a finalist school, recordings of Prospect's ensembles will be entered in competition with other top music programs in the country. The winners will receive the coveted Grammy Award.