Occupation: I am a preschool teacher in my ninth year at the Wesley Learning Center adjacent to the United Methodist Church, 92 Church Hill Road, in Sandy Hook. I teach four days a week in the extended 4-year-old program. I got into this when I started volunteering in my son’s preschool, and I just love working in this field. I feel very honored that the parents have entrusted their children to my care. Every day the children make me smile. It’s nice to go to a job where your purpose is to make people happy.

How Long In Newtown: We have lived here 18 years and we were fortunate to have been able to renovate our home. I don’t know how young couples nowadays can afford to move into this town. I grew up in Monroe and then lived in Stratford, where I graduated from high school.

Biggest Change You Have Seen In Town: The growth in Newtown’s population is the biggest change. It’s still very beautiful here. The landscape is so scenic, just like a perfect New England town. I love looking at the fields and woods.

Family: I’m very proud of my family. My husband John was a professional firefighter in Stratford, and he has just retired. We have two sons. Brian, 22, is into painting and culinary arts. Danny, 17, is a senior at Newtown High School and is captain of the football team. He has been recruited by the University of Wisconsin in Madison for a full football scholarship, so I guess we’ll be traveling to the Midwest a lot during the next four years.

Hobbies: When we have the time, we love to out in our boat anchored in Milford harbor. We just took it out of the water for the season –– a sad day. It’s a 34-foot Sunrunner. We like to take our boat in and out of different harbors up and down the coast, but it gets harder and harder to find time to get the whole family together. It’s lucky if we can get them out on the boat on Father’s Day.

I also have a love for rubberstamping, which is quite a relaxing and interesting hobby. You can create cards for family and friends for any occasion using different media and the possibilities are unlimited.

Pets: We have a black Lab named Jeter who was a surprise gift to my husband, and a cat named Romeo because he roams a lot at night.

Favorite Book Or Movie: I enjoy reading magazines, and I’m always picking something up to read in my line of work that helps me in dealing with children and parents. In my work, I have found that children need large blocks of unstructured time. A lot of them are very busy with all their organized activities, but there needs to be a balance.

One of my favorite movies was A Beautiful Mind. I’m not a car chase, sci-fi kind of a person.

Most Vivid Memory About Newtown: I am still impressed by the scenic landscape and the change of seasons. I like every season except that winter is a little bit too long. Two months of winter is enough.

Favorite Vacation Spot: We’ve been twice on a cruise to Bermuda, but our best holiday was to Sodus Point, a fishing town in upstate New York where there is absolutely nothing to do but fish and have family time. It’s a beautiful natural harbor located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario.

Personal Philosophy: I am a simple person, not complicated. I try to treat other people fairly and with respect.