A longtime teacher and principal at The Epiphany School in Manhattan entered into retirement in style when more than 200 former students and friends surprised him with a heartfelt send-off.

James Hayes, a 38-year veteran of the more-than-century-old school — a private pre-K-through-eighth-grade Catholic school on East 22nd Street — made warmly greeting students each morning his trademark. On Friday, his last day, Hayes opened the doors to a cheering mob of appreciative well-wishers and was moved to tears.

A line of parents and students all patiently waited to give Hayes a hug.

“I am feeling a little overwhelmed,” he said after the surprise show of appreciation. “It’s a wonderful send-off. I am the one who should be thanking them.”

Hayes said he was going to miss his greeting ritual and the students who looked up to him.

“The kids . . . every day greeting them. I am sort of like a surrogate parent to them,” he said. “It’s kind of nice.”

Hayes might be leaving his principal duties behind but will remain close to the school as head of fund-raising.

Assistant Principal Mary Jane Higgins thinks Hayes’ spirit will live on: “He is gone but he’ll be around forever,” she said.