Occupation: This is my first year as a first grade teacher at Hawley School. I taught one year of kindergarten in Warren when I started teaching, and then I was a kindergarten teacher at Hawley for 12 years. The first kids I ever had at Hawley are seniors this year.

Family: My husband, Jeff, and I have three children. Madison is 11 years old, Jake is 9, and Karsen is 7.

Pets: We have two St Bernards, Conrad and Trixie, who are both 2 years old, but not from the same litter. And we have a cat, Cricket. He’s 3 years old. We had a St Bernard and a mastiff before these two dogs, so Cricket is kind of used to it. We do things big at our house.

How long have you lived in Newtown? We moved to Newtown when I was 7 years old, so I grew up here. I graduated from Newtown High School in 1988. Then I moved to Woodbury when Jeff and I got married, for five years. When we had kids, I wanted to move back so they could go to the Newtown school system. We’ve been back in Newtown for seven years.

What do you like to do in your free time? I go to all of my children’s sporting events — soccer, baseball, and basketball. So a lot of my free time is spent on a field somewhere. I love to read in my spare time, and I love to work outside.

Do you have a favorite author? Jodi Picoult is my favorite author. Of all of the books she has written, I would say The Pact is my favorite. I just read The Weight of Silence, too, by Heather Gudenkauf for my book club, and I loved it.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? Block Island. We go every summer with our family and five other families. We all rent a couple of houses, take turns cooking dinners, and go to the beach all day long. The kids play in the water and sand, the adults relax and talk. It’s very fun.

What is the best thing about Newtown? The people who live here. It’s a very kind and caring community of people. And the library is wonderful, too… my mom, Janet Woycik, is the library director. But the library offers activities for everyone from the young to the old, and lots of great books, of course.

Do you have a favorite Newtown memory? One winter when I was probably 8 or 9 years old, it snowed at least two feet. They plowed Main Street and the snow was piled high on both sides — the drifts were huge. I remember walking down the street, and there were no cars on the road. It was like walking through a cave. It was so serene and quiet. It was cool.

Do you have a personal philosophy? Have patience, and be kind to everybody. Understand that everyone’s needs are different.

Do you have a guilty pleasure? Probably french fries, cheese, and gravy at the Blue Colony Diner. I indulge in it once or twice a year. I think it could stop your heart if you indulged too many times!