At the start of the year, there was a lot of scepticism about whether banning phones and other communication devices like smart watches from schools would actually work.
Eight months into the ban, the view from the classrooms is the policy has worked better than many expected.
Rebecca Marris, 16, said talking to people face-to-face instead of screen-to-screen had made her more confident. "I've signed up for for more activities than I ever thought I would while being off my phone," she said.
Chloe Teh, 15, said the ban had helped her focus on school work better. She was more productive. "We don't have to think about social media or whether anyone's texted," she said.
Ash McLean, 16, said it had improved his social life. He now spent more time talking to friends instead of "checking up on the socials or texting people I'm not with".
And Melrose High School teacher Sonja Berghuis said it had actually brought the joy back into teaching. That's the word she used.
"It's really improved the school because students are actually present. They are engaged," she said.
"When I'm teaching I know that they're listening to me. They don't have AirPods in anymore. It really has made teaching quite joyful again."
She has figures to back up the case.
The ban in ACT schools for students up to year 10 came in at the start of the year. In the first term, there were 123 cases where a student had been caught with a phone three times, with a resulting warning email sent to parents. By term 2, the figure had dropped to 66, and this term it's 23 so far.
Not everyone has gone along with it. Some students were sneaking off to the toilets to use their phones but the school authorities found an ingenious way of putting the kibosh on that: they installed speakers playing loud jazz.
The bunch of bright students at Melrose High listed all kinds of ways the ban had helped them.
Perhaps the most important was it had cut down on bullying and harassment - of teachers as well as students.
With phones in class, every awkward gesture risked being filmed and distributed - and children can be cruel to teachers and each other.
"Now, I know I can talk to my students openly and know that they are listening and taking on board what I say. It's really lovely," Ms Berghuis said.
The girls said the presence of phones had deterred some people from taking part in swimming and athletics events.
"Cyber bullying has definitely decreased," Rebecca Marris said.
School dances were a problem before. People might have felt shy about dancing with someone, knowing the video would be transmitted to all and sundry. Now, it's simply an event which comes and goes.
The three year 10 teenagers The Canberra Times talked to seemed pleasantly surprised at the revelation that talking to someone could be so pleasant and mind-expanding. They walk around, alert and aware instead of down at a screen, and notice a new pair of shoes or clothes - and stop and talk about them!
"You notice so many more things when you're not on your phone," Chloe Teh said.
The kids may also be fitter. "My friend group used to connect using a game on their phones," Chloe Teh said. "But now we play handball and it's great."
When the ban was introduced, the ACT government said: "The consultation process found strong community and staff support for a first to last bell ban on communication devices for students in primary and high school years, and for 'put it away' restrictions during class time for college-aged students."
There is now firm evidence at least some students also support it.
The ACT government's education department said: "Feedback to the directorate so far has highlighted strong support within the ACT public school system for this policy, with evidence of its positive impact in classrooms and across school communities."
