SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – Be honest. How often do you look forward to Tuesday? Well, some teachers in Suffolk decided if you add a little Tiara to that Tuesday, you can create some much-needed joy for a day of the week that gets no love.
“You never know how your Monday is going to go. That Monday can be great. It can be terrible, but Tuesday is just a day to turn it around,” said Karen Waddell, Choir Director at Nansemond River High School.
And so, Tiara Tuesday was born at Nansemond River High School.
“By putting just that little bit of shiny on, you add just a little bit of sparkle. You add a little bit of joy around the campus,” said Waddell.
Waddell says she is thankful fellow teachers Adele Liles and Dawn Rountree created Tiara Tuesday back in 2015.
“I used to run homecoming court, and I had a random tiara sitting around, and (Adele Liles) is always talking about how she’s the queen of her classroom, and we just kind of decided hey! We’re going to wear them. Why not?” laughed Rountree, an engineering teacher at the high school.
After the pandemic paused the fun, Nansemond River teachers decided everyone needed a morale boost. So, they made Tiara Tuesday shine once again.
“I love it! I love bling. I love a little sparkle, and so I’m happy for everyone to join in Tiara Tuesday,” said Liles, an Honors English teacher at the school.
Sophomore Desyree Perkins looks forward to Tiara Tuesday!
“I was a big Disney fan when I was younger, so wearing a tiara makes me feel like a Disney princess,” said Perkins.
She says seeing friends and teachers wearing tiaras takes away a bit of the stress high school can bring.
“It just makes it feel more fun to come to school.”
That’s exactly what the teachers want.
“So often, people see high school as you have to take everything so seriously, and it’s okay to not take everything so seriously sometimes,” said Rountree.
“They love the element of fun that we’ve been bringing back in, and that, I think, is just the rejuvenation we’ve been needing,” said Waddell.
