Cowboys Community Foundation Try for 5! schools across nine Northern Queensland communities have the chance to earn their very own painted feature wall this term, with the launch of the new Earn Your Paint campaign, proudly supported by Dulux Australia. 

Throughout Term 3, each participating school will work towards a customised school attendance target as part of the Cowboys Community Foundation's Try for 5! school attendance program. Schools that achieve their goal will earn a colourful, permanent feature wall celebrating their commitment to showing up every day. 

Designed in collaboration with students, each feature wall will become a lasting symbol of school pride, achievement and the positive habits built through regular school attendance. 

Since 2013, the Try for 5! program has supported schools to improve attendance across northern Queensland, where attendance rates remain below the national average.

In 2025, students across Australia attended school an average of 4.4 days a week, compared with 4.1 days across North and Far North Queensland, while attendance in Queensland's very remote communities averaged 3.6 days a week. 

Cowboys Community Foundation CEO Fiona Pelling said the new campaign builds on the success of the Try for 5! program by giving students and school communities another exciting reason to make every school day count. 

"Attending school every day has a profound impact on a child's learning, confidence and future opportunities," Ms Pelling said. 

"For many of our partner schools, Term 3 can be one of the most challenging times of the year for maintaining strong school attendance. The Earn Your Paint campaign is designed to provide another positive incentive to keep more children at school learning, while recognising the commitment of students, teachers and families working together to build positive attendance habits. 

"We're incredibly grateful to Dulux for supporting this initiative. The feature walls will become a lasting symbol of school pride and achievement, and we can't wait to celebrate the schools that earn their paint and see the positive impact this campaign creates across our communities." 

The Earn Your Paint campaign is part of the Cowboys Community Foundation's Try for 5! program, which partners with 18 schools across the region to improve school attendance, strengthen student engagement and encourage positive behaviour through a structured attendance challenge supported by Cowboys ambassadors. 

Participating Try for 5! schools in Mount Isa, Normanton, Doomadgee, Weipa, Mapoon, Cooktown, Cairns, Palm Island and Townsville will spend Term 3 working towards their attendance targets, with successful schools seeing their feature wall reward come to life in Term 4 as a lasting celebration of their commitment to improving school attendance. 

Dulux Australia has teamed up with the Cowboys Community Foundation as a Friend of the Foundation, a partnership that includes a donation of 1000 litres of paint to support community initiatives across the organisation. 

Alongside bringing the Earn Your Paint campaign to life, the paint donation will also enhance other Foundation programs, including NRL Cowboys House, helping create welcoming, vibrant spaces for young people across the region.

Through Earn Your Paint, Dulux is helping create welcoming school environments that celebrate positive attendance behaviours, inspire school pride and leave students with a lasting reminder of what they can achieve together. 

“Dulux is committed to supporting First Nations communities through the power of paint and colour, which is why we're proud to partner with the Cowboys Community Foundation on the Try for 5! program and its Earn Your Paint initiative. Together, we're helping create spaces that celebrate culture, inspire pride and encourage school attendance,” Sophie Brereton, Dulux Community & Partnerships Manager said.

“Nothing feels better than earning something you've worked hard for. These feature walls won't just add colour to schools, they'll tell the story of a community that came together and achieved its goal. 

“We hope every time students walk past these walls they'll be reminded that showing up every day makes a difference and that their efforts have created something their whole community can be proud of. We can't wait to see more schools across northern Queensland earn their paint and bring their stories to life through colour.” 

Throughout the term, schools will track their progress towards their attendance targets, with regular updates shared through school community social channels and messages of encouragement across the Cowboys Community Foundation's platforms. 

Winning schools will welcome the Try for 5! ambassadors in Term 4 to help create their feature walls, transforming improved attendance into a colourful and lasting legacy for future students.