From May 11 to 13, the halls of Tergar School Kathmandu became a little livelier, a little louder, and perhaps a little more curious.
Over three days, Tergar School Kathmandu welcomed 137 students and 19 teachers from Premier International IB Continuum School for a meditation and mindfulness workshop. Led by Tergar School Kathmandu students alongside Principal Bikash Deshar, the sessions were designed for students from Classes 1 to 3. Then, on May 14, four Tergar School Kathmandu students and Principal Bikash Deshar had the opportunity to visit Premier International and lead the same workshop for the Class 4 and 5 students.
What unfolded was not a formal lesson in silence or stillness. It was something much more alive.
The workshops began with playful mindfulness activities, “Shake It Up” and “Zip-Up” warm-ups, inviting students to move, stretch, and settle into the space together. When children are asked what meditation looks like, the most common answer is breathing. And breathing is a wonderful place to start. But the workshops also gently expanded that picture: students explored meditation through sound, and finally, a gratitude practice, beginning with gratitude for oneself, which is so often overlooked.
The approach was intentionally simple.
At Tergar School Kathmandu, the belief is that meditation does not always need a perfect cushion, a quiet room, or a special setting. Sometimes it begins with noticing a breath between classes, listening carefully to a sound, or pausing for a moment of gratitude during the day. The hope was to encourage children to feel that mindfulness can happen anywhere, anytime, and with anyone.
Rather than teaching meditation as something distant or difficult, the workshops focused on sharing what students and teachers genuinely practice and understand themselves. Simple tools. Simple awareness. Simple kindness toward one’s own mind.
One of the most meaningful parts of the exchange was the conversations with the students themselves.
Sessions often begin with a question: Why do we meditate? And how do we do it?
The answers revealed something encouraging; the children were already aware. Many had heard about mindfulness before, understood that meditation could help calm their mind, or spoke about emotions and focus on thoughtful ways. What they needed most was not more information, but gentle guidance and encouragement to explore these practices in their own way.
The exchange also opened the door for future collaboration between the two schools.
Principal Bikash Deshar shared a long-term vision to continue building partnerships with Premier International and other schools, through ongoing meditation workshops and shared learning opportunities. For Tergar School Kathmandu students, these exchanges offer something particularly valuable: the chance to grow in confidence, refine their ability to share these practices with others, and discover how mindfulness can become part of everyday learning.
Over the course of four days, what moved between the two schools was more than activities or techniques.
It was a shared curiosity: How do children become more aware, compassionate, and connected, not only to their lessons, but to the quiet moments in-between, to themselves, and to each other?
