As students across the country gear up to head back to class, parents are left with plenty of questions the school year.

Is the teacher fully vaccinated? Are masks mandatory in the classroom,&nbsp;cafeteria or gym?

Our question this week: Is it safe to return to the classroom? What worries you most about back to school?&nbsp;

Plus, CBC's Rosemary Barton answers your federal election questions in our Ask Me Anything.

Tell us what you think: Call&nbsp;us on Sunday at 1-888-416-8333,&nbsp;

Why Canadians need to keep their guard up in the 4th wave — even if they're fully vaccinated

The delta variant has changed the rules of the game — raising the immunity threshold we need to hit, increasing risk in our day-to-day lives and requiring even fully vaccinated Canadians to keep their guard up. 

Waning immunity sparks debate about need for COVID-19 booster shots

Torontonians carry masks on Aug. 12, 2021, as health officials cite rising COVID-19 case counts as a sign Ontario is in a fourth wave of coronavirus infections.

Masks feature, Toronto

Recent studies show a drop in effectiveness for COVID-19 vaccines, but the lack of information about how severe breakthrough cases were has sparked a debate about whether booster shots are necessary.

What school will look like this fall as Canada struggles to bring COVID-19 under control

What students face heading back to class during this fourth wave of COVID-19 will look strikingly different depending on where they live in the country.

A child in a doorway with their hands on their head.

The son of a Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board staff members waits outside a press conference at Memorial City Elementary School, in Hamilton, Ont., on Aug. 26, 2021.

Hamilton school tour

With COVID-19 cases rising and students heading back to school, provinces and school boards are working to keep students safe. But there is renewed concern about whether enough is being done.

Safety concerns, uncertainty return for another pandemic school year

B.C.'s lack of COVID school notices, transparent data draws criticism from parents, teachers

Dr. Bonnie Henry said Wednesday that notifications would not be issued to schools for single exposures, saying the school-based letters were "more anxiety-provoking than helpful."

Students are pictured on a school bus after classes end at Earl Marriott Secondary School in Surrey, B.C., on Jan. 4, 2021.

Earl Marriott Secondary School COVID-19

Want to protect students under the age of 12? Get vaccinated, says Russell

The safest way to protect unvaccinated schoolchildren against COVID-19 this year is to make sure the older members of their households have had their two shots, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health says. 

Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health, and Education Minister Dominic Cardy responded to questions from the public about students returning to school on Tuesday.

Parents of kids with long-COVID warn that children can develop severe symptoms

Parents whose children have developed long-haul COVID are urging others not to underestimate the virus’s impact on kids as they prepare for the return to class this week.

Alyssa and her mother Cathy Smyth both have long COVID.

Alyssa and Cathy Smyth

Alyssa Smyth and her mother, Cathy, both have long-COVID.

Students wear face masks as they attend class on the first day of school in Montreal on Aug. 31, 2021. What worries do you have as students return to school?

What worries you most about back to school?

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