Calling all LEAPers and LEAPy people! A new club has arrived! Known as the Great Thinkers’ Society, or just the GT club, this club is a chance for people in LEAP to get together with their old buddies and do out-of-the-box things once again. Anyone who is like-minded or wishes to join the Great Thinkers’ Society is also welcome to come. Since LEAP was disbanded, many former students are excited for the opportunity to get back together.

“I miss the unity of people who think similarly to me and the ability to have the flexibility of different answers and different thinking processes in classes,” sophomore Abbie Ruesy said.

Many LEAP students joined the class early in elementary school and were with the same people all throughout the program.

“I think this club is important because it gives GT kids the opportunity to go back to their roots that chose them for this program,” Abbie said.

The idea of a GT club has been enthusiastically received by many of the LEAP alumni.

“I am excited to be able to think like a LEAP student again,” Abbie said.

LEAP students were told that Humanities was going to be the replacement for the program, but many of them were disappointed with how little the class resembled LEAP.

“AP is not a substitute for LEAP classes,” Abbie said.

Chemistry teacher Leslie will be the sponsor of the new club.

“This club idea came from the district level administrators who wanted a way for GT students to have support at the high school level,” Gibson said. “I was asked to take on this club by administrators who know that I love GT students and the way they think.”

The definition of “GT” or “LEAP student” has always been a little unclear for some students. Commonly mislabeled as the “genius kids,” LEAP students are those that think differently from others. The state of Texas describes LEAP students as “a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area; possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or excels in a specific academic field.” LEAP students often need help to not overthink things.

“I think having a club for GT kids is tremendously important,” sophomore Meredith Carlile said. “As a kid I had dyslexia, and I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t had that community in MTA to help me understand how my brain works and to work with me to develop it. The same goes for GT kids. We need an environment of like-minded people to help us reach our full potential.”

The Great Thinkers’ society was created so that LEAP students would have an environment where they can flourish.

“This club is an opportunity for LEAP/GT students to gather, interact, support one another and work on service projects and develop ideas with others that are like-minded.” Gibson said.

Many of the LEAPers have high hopes for this new club.

“I hope that at the meetings we will have a chance to interact with our fellow GT, do GT-centric activities together that might not appeal to others (puzzles, riddles, Legos, etc.), and  help each other and the community.” Meredith said.

Gibson’s plan for the Great Thinkers’ Society is to have meetings once a month with smaller Passion Sub Population groups meeting weekly.

“We will socialize, have guest speakers, learn supportive information, make plans for future activities, socials, and projects,” Gibson said.

The best part about this new club, according to the LEAP students is that the LEAP students will have an environment to be themselves freely again.

“I miss the days when being socially awkward was normal,” sophomore Jacob Hochfelder said.