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MATTAPAN, Mass. – Students of the Mildred Avenue K-8 School knew they would be attending a play Monday morning, but had no idea that a celebrity guest star was scheduled to attend.
With the lights dimmed, Celtics center Kelly Olynyk took the stage to play Mr. Nelson in the play, giving a fun twist on the sly teacher illustrated in the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) classic “Mrs. Nelson is Missing” by Harry Allard.
The play is an annual event that the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, in partnership with HMH, throws via the Read to Achieve program. Students chosen to star in the play all reached their reading goal of reading 20 minutes per day, five days per week, during “out of school” time for the month of November.
Accompanied on stage by his co-stars, Olynyk and the cast acted out the first scene of the play. With paper planes flying, kids giggling, whispering and rustling around the classroom, the patience of Mr. Nelson was quickly tested.
After a day of interruptions, Mr. Nelson gave up on trying to settle his class down and came back to school the next day disguised as the stern Mr. Swamp.
With a quick costume change, Olynyk was back on stage with a darker demeanor and demanding tone.
Intimidated by the substitute teacher, the youth settled down in their seats, but wondered what happened to the easygoing Mr. Nelson.
Overwhelmed with homework and challenging lectures, the students go on a search for the beloved teacher.
After teaching the youth a lesson for a couple weeks, one day Mr. Nelson returned to school.
While the storyline had a humorous tone, the moral of the play gave students some food for thought.
“I learned how important it is to listen to your teachers no matter what goes on in your classroom,” explained a student. “In class you learn and if you misbehave you will miss out on an important lesson.”
Olynyk echoed the young lady’s sentiment.
“All of you should think about what she just said,” Olynyk chimed in. “Make sure you follow the rules and be respectful of others.”
After fielding a few questions from the student body, the Celtics big man spoke about the escape reading can provide.
“When I am traveling from city to city for games I like to relax on the plane,” Olynyk said. “Reading takes my mind off of things and brings my mind into different world to forget about things for a while.”
As the student body filed out of the auditorium, the forward reflected on the experience he had with the group.
“It was great being in a play with the kids today,” said Olynyk. “I think I proved I am not cut out for acting and will go back to my job on the court, but I had a blast with the kids.”
Kelly Olynyk plays role in "Mr. Nelson is Missing" written by students at Mildred Avenue Middle School.