I must be having a growth spurt...

Don't they say that great growth happens through great challenge? I hope so. I have a class of students that could very well be my most challenging obstacle in my short 4.5-ish years (5 sounds better but I'm in my 5th so I guess I can't say it just yet) of teaching. I've had classes in the past with one or two students who were challenging from a classroom management standpoint, but this particular class has no less than 6. I've tried a few different tactics and finally broke down and contacted some parents today (we'll see next week if that helps) but they have thwarted my every maneuver. It seems as though every day they pass the torch to another of their group as to who can make me pull the most hair out. At this rate I'll surely be bald by Thanksgiving. It's so frustrating because I don't think any of these kids are bad kids (I can say that now, semi-objectively 6 hours later) and I'm pretty sure that if I had a couple of them mixed in to a couple of my other classes that I would have no problem at all. But all 6 at once is just more than I can emotionally bear. I hate the fact that I dread the days in which I meet with this class because I just cannot seem to get a grip on them. The other day I even had to stoop to bribery (candy can be an effective motivator) and even then I met with mediocre results. But like I said, maybe contacting a few parents will make all the difference. I'm not big into disciplinary write-ups but that may also become my best tool. However I have a difficult time putting a word to what exactly each student does that is so counter-productive to my teaching. I mean, I could easily attach a few words to some of the actions but not all of them. And some things (like some suspected bullying) I haven't been able to clearly witness (clear enough that I can hear what was said) though it seems to be happening under my nose. It's all so utterly exasperating I can hardly stand it and it makes me look at the calendar and think, "It's only September???"