Retiring principal gets a magical sendoff

Principal Pat Hansen waves to her students while riding in a horse-drawn carriage during a surprise thank you event at Vista Grande Elementary School in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Hansen is retiring after 24 years and was treated to a special carriage ride to lunch with her staff. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Students sing for Principal Pat Hansen during a surprise thank you event at Vista Grande Elementary School in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Hansen is retiring after 24 years and was treated to a special carriage ride to lunch with her staff. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Principal Pat Hansen waves to her students while riding in a horse-drawn carriage during a surprise thank you event at Vista Grande Elementary School in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Hansen is retiring after 24 years and was treated to a special carriage ride to lunch with her staff. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Principal Pat Hansen rides in a horse-drawn carriage during a surprise thank you event at Vista Grande Elementary School in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Hansen is retiring after 24 years and was treated to a special carriage ride to lunch with her staff. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Principal Pat Hansen, right, receives a hug from Assistant Principal Debbie McGovern in a horse-drawn carriage during a surprise thank you event at Vista Grande Elementary School in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Hansen is retiring after 24 years and was treated to a special carriage ride to lunch with her staff. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Students applaud for Principal Pat Hansen during a surprise thank you event at Vista Grande Elementary School in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Hansen is retiring after 24 years and was treated to a special carriage ride to lunch with her staff. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Vista Grande Elementary School is decorated in a Disney theme in honor of Principal Pat Hansen in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Hansen is retiring after 24 years and was treated to a special carriage ride to lunch with her staff. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Principal Pat Hansen reacts as students sing for her during a surprise thank you event at Vista Grande Elementary School in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Hansen is retiring after 24 years and was treated to a special carriage ride to lunch with her staff. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Vista Grande Elementary School is decorated in a Disney theme in honor of Principal Pat Hansen in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Hansen is retiring after 24 years and was treated to a special carriage ride to lunch with her staff. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Students wave goodbye to Principal Pat Hansen, riding in a horse-drawn carriage, during a surprise thank you event at Vista Grande Elementary School in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Hansen is retiring after 24 years and was treated to a special carriage ride to lunch with her staff. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Principal Pat Hansen wipes away a tear as students sing for her during a surprise thank you event at Vista Grande Elementary School in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. The school was decorated in a Disneyland theme for the occassion and she was treated to a special horse-drawn carriage ride to lunch with her staff. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Students hug Principal Pat Hansen during a surprise thank you event at Vista Grande Elementary School in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Hansen is retiring after 24 years and was treated to a special carriage ride to lunch with her staff. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

By Mark DuFrene | mdufrene@bayareanewsgroup.com

PUBLISHED: May 22, 2019 at 4:10 p.m. | UPDATED: May 23, 2019 at 10:30 a.m.

Click here if you are unable to view this gallery on a mobile device.

When Vista Grande Elementary School principal Pat Hansen arrived at her Danville school on Wednesday, May 22, she found her school had been transformed into “The Happiest School on Earth,” with Disney-themed decorations and a student body meeting her to sing her songs. She was then whisked away to lunch with her staff in a horse-drawn carriage.

“I love this school,” Hansen said. “I am going miss everybody so much. To turn a whole school into Disneyland is phenomenal. We have the greatest parents and teachers and our students are phenomenal, just phenomenal, they are great, great, great kids. I am going to miss them a lot.”

Hansen has been in education for 49 years.